Moriarty’s CLONE WARS Review... Sorta...

Hey, everyone. “Moriarty” here.
You know what fanboy phrase I really hate?
“George Lucas raped my childhood.”
No he didn’t. He didn’t “rape” you in any way. That’s such a specifically, intentionally ugly use of the word, and in the end, even if you hate every single thing he’s done since the end of JEDI, he still hasn’t “raped” you at all. He’s never forced you to do anything. Many of us grew up fans of the original trilogy, and I can understand feeling a massive disconnect from what he’s done with the series recently, but “rape”? Hardly.
George Lucas inspired a great deal of my childhood. He ignited a love of film in me that has continued, full force, from 1977 to today. I was there for the theatrical runs of the STAR WARS films. I was rabid long before there was an Internet. And the thing that Harry and I were first in contact over was the teaser trailer for STAR WARS: THE SPECIAL EDITIONS.
Since I started at AICN, I have written thousands and thousands and thousands of words about STAR WARS. Timing’s a funny thing, because right around the time I got actively involved with the site was the time that prequel rumors really started heating up. And we covered them. The real ones. The fake ones. The silly ones. The ones that made us hope. It was a thrilling time, and I was living with a good buddy, Segue Zagnut, and his wife while all that was going on. Obi-Swan was always over. All of our friends were STAR WARS crazy. It was just a great time to be a film geek and, in particular, a STAR WARS fan.
Here are a few of the highlights of the STAR WARS coverage I’ve done over the years here at the site.
Here’s my reaction to the EPISODE I teaser trailer, which was a great evening for fandom overall just because of that feeling of community.Here’s my review of the script for EPISODE I. It was, as you can, published a wee bit early, which is what kicked off Lucasfilm’s now-decade-long war against me and, on a slightly wider scale, the site.When I went to ShoWest in 1999, the Fox presentation was one of the things I covered.
As a result of that EPISODE I script review, I was Banned From The Ranch. Officially. How we learned that fact became the subject of this article, which earned me more mail than almost anything else I’ve ever written for the site.
That ban is evidently still in place today, which seems ridiculous, but we’ll get into that later.
So of course, I had to write a review for the script to EPISODE II, just to tweak George a bit.Here’s my EPISODE I review once the film was finally finished.Here’s my EPISODE II review once the film was finally finished.And here's the summation of it all, my EPISODE III review, as well.
As some of you will remember, I spent over a year organizing “Jedi Council” meetings for AICN, roundtable discussions with other fans that we posted as massive transcripts. They were so much fun, but our search engine just coughs at me and then shits on the floor when I try to ask it to pull all those articles up.
I found a few, though. Like this one.Or this one.Or this one.Or this one.
The point is, I’ve written about STAR WARS for almost ten years here at the site, and I’ve been thinking about it nonstop as a fan for thirty-one years.
And I think it’s time to stop.
You did it, Mr. Lucas. You finally broke me of the habit. The embargo that you told Warner Bros. to enforce on our site, the ONLY SITE OR MEDIA OUTLET ANYWHERE THAT WAS HELD TO THAT EMBARGO DATE, is a very clear signal. You don’t want me to write about STAR WARS. And it may have taken me this long to realize that it’s not just that you don’t want me to spoil secrets... you don’t want me to write about it AT ALL... but I’ve finally taken the hint.
Yeah, I’m the only regular reviewer here at the site who kind of liked THE CLONE WARS. And, yeah, I’ll be tuning in with Toshi to watch every episode of the series, and I’m sure I’ll watch the live-action show, too.
But as of right now, midnight in Los Angeles on August 15, 2008, I am done writing about STAR WARS. No more. No reviews. No retrospectives. No news. No coverage at all. Because embargoes can work the other way, too. If it pains Lucas on a professional and a personal and a corporate level that someone who was part of the generation that made him a billionaire has an opinion about his product, then I will spare him that pain from now on. Happily.
Because let’s be honest... I love STAR WARS (which is what I still call the first film) and EMPIRE, and all the others are, I think, inferior product that I enjoy on a much more surface level. I love the iconography of the universe Lucas created. I love lightsabers and robots and spaceships and Art Deco intergalactic architecture, and I love Jedi Knights and Sith Lords and all that stuff. I can’t wait to play the FORCE UNLEASHED video game next month, and I’ll happily admit to having read the novelizations of both CLONE WARS and FORCE UNLEASHED that were sent over for review. The book for CLONE WARS is better than the movie, by the way. It explains more (including the idea that Hutts reproduce asexually, and only once, making Jabba’s link to his son far more dramatic) and there’s a slightly more adult tone to the whole thing. I enjoy all of this stuff, openly and without any of the baggage that seems to have poisoned a lot of fandom these days.
But maybe that’s because it’s no longer that important to me overall. You go back and read some of those pieces I wrote in 1998 or 1999, and that’s a hardcore STAR WARS fan, a guy who still believes that STAR WARS is an important cornerstone of genre film. These days, I consider it one of the many, many influences that turned me on to my overall love of film, but that’s it. It is not something I spend much time thinking about or watching. I doubt I’ll watch any of the films again until my kids are ready to see them. To be perfectly frank, I have something like 9000 or 10000 movies in my house, and yet I don’t have a single copy of any of the prequels. That sort of tells you how important the movies are to me these days.
You win, Mr. Lucas. When I was getting ready to see THE CLONE WARS, I was told there was an embargo in place, so I was prepared to honor it until opening day. What I wasn’t prepared for was the punitive and offensive way the rest of the situation was handled. Warner Bros. has a great publicity team that I deal with all the time, and although every single communication I got was from them, they were out of character. Warner never once blamed Lucasfilm for any of this, but come on... I know what was going on. Warner tried their best to behave with honor to Lucasfilm and to us, and they got just as screwed as we did.
I am sorry that I ever spend the time and energy I did on STAR WARS, Mr. Lucas. I am sorry that I poured my money and, before that, my parents’ money into your pockets. I’m sorry that after decades of being a fan, even when there was no new STAR WARS to satisfy that craving, I somehow made your life so unbearable simply by sharing my enthusiasm for that world with our readership.
You win. I’m done. From now on, my opinion about STAR WARS is for me and for my immediate friends, and that’s that. Your embargo has opened my eyes, and I wish you nothing but peace now that the threat of me saying something as controversial as “His cartoon movie’s kind of fun” has been erased. The internet is safe now. STAR WARS is safe now. Congratulations.
Like I said... George Lucas didn’t rape anything.
But he sure is a fucking bully.

Far be it from me to impose parenting advice, but The Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon is not just a commercial endeavor, it's the truest representation of the character outside of the comic medium, DAMNED ENTERTAINING, and chock full of great core values! Make his Marvel!!!!

so that's why you didnt bother to do lengthy explaination about the embargo in the other TB. you were saving it for here.
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and now i kinda get why you were so pissed over there as well. :) lucas did rape you. well, maybe not your childhood, but he did rape you after all, as he did most of us.

Now thats a fucking statement. If Moriarty sticks to his guns, then I think the fanboys in the talkbacks will happily retract the sell out tag. But turning your back on the holy grail of geekdom makes way more of a point, and is way harder than breaking an embargo. Way to go dude. I feel the same way about Star Wars now. I don't think I'll ever "grow out" of the original trilogy. Thats literally part of who I am and what makes up my character. But bit by overexposed and dryly wrung bit I've just stopped caring about anything related to Star Wars that isn't O.T. specific. This new film, even if the word was across the board like Moriartys (fair to good) I still don't think at this stage I could get up and get the nerve to go watch it. With this series and movie, its clear Lucas is done with exploring the universe or characters hes created, and is comfortable to sit back and sell toys. I just hope he has some passion project tucked away that hes working on. Sad to see all those resources not get used by someone who was so clearly an enthusiastic film maker.

... oh, I'll stick to my guns. I've got a whole universe of film I could be writing about, things that I haven't done that I'd like to do, retrospective series and the like. I could fill every day I spend at AICN for the rest of my life very busy without ever once writing about STAR WARS again. Easy enough.

Well put, sir. I must say, you know how to write a well thought out piece. Between this and the Pineapple/Tropic piece, I've been in heaven. Stick it to the man, Mori. Keep writing the good fight. (That sounded better in my head)

You know I feel the same way. I don't write reviews like Mori, but I can understand his feeling the way he does. I love star wars also. But I will boycott this movie simply so Lucas will stop doing stuff like this to his fans.

Sorry, but you're just coming across as a child here. Let's put something into perspective, you're job exists to make it hard for filmmakers to surprise an audience, to rate their work and show no feeling when bashing something you don't like. They use what power they have to stop you and it's 'not fair'.
Well I'd love to see how you liked it if you'd worked for 3 years on an article, the most wanted article on the planet, that you've kept as much secret as possible and then one day before publishing another site comes along and posts every exclusive part of it.
How would that feel?
At least Lucas has the decency to not whine about it like a child when you post reviews of his scripts.

That really hit home. Sometimes people need to let go of their creation and let it breathe on its own. Lucas has mothered his space child till it's 31st birthday and maybe now it's time Star Wars left and made some new friends.

I'm sure Lucus sitting at his gazillion dollar ranch lighting a cohiba with a 100 dollar bill cares that some reviewer on a website wont cover his crap anymore. Yeah Mori you sure showed him!! Lucas isn't an artist or a filmmaker he ceased being either some time ago. Hes now a cold calculating business man. And hes trying to maximize his bottom line by raping, YES RAPING his own past works. Time to accept it and move on. Cant believe its taken you this long to figure it out Mori.

yeah, but you forget that we have to PAY to see a movie. if someone is warning us that the new lucas shit really is shit, then i think whoever's doing the warning deserves a pat in the back for at least saving us $10.
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lucas on the other hand wants your $10 bucks for a shit product, and anyone telling us that it's shit, he will shush them. that's not integrity. that's just greed.

The people who say 'George Lucas raped my childhood' are usually the people using it sarcastically as they apologise for the crapness of his later movies. I don't know if anyone actually used that phrase sincerely. Maybe one person did. Or perhaps two. But not many. Your opening is a pointless argument.

Eloquent wording aside, this is actually what I've thought about Lucas for a while. Hell, if I could make billions of dollars by making fanboys miserable, I'd do it! Sign me right the hell up for that job.

...That would be fair if AICN posted the movie or clips up on their page. But it was just a script review. If your film can't survive that, then its a weak film. I don't think they ever spoiled any significant portion of the film, and I doubt they went up without spoiler warnings, and its not as if Lucas could take any financial losses, considering every goddamn human being on the planet would have seen Episode 1 anyway. As far as an artist having his vision spoiled...Look at what we're discussing. A fucking toy commercial. The guy doesn't give a shit. To me it just sounds like petty vindictiveness. He can push people around, because, well, he can.

I'm doing my best throughout this whole thing to try not to lose face when it comes to the OT. For me and many of my generation, it is impossible to divorce oneself from the memories associated with all six Star Wars films. I was first introduced to the OT in 1995 or so and it was from then on a part of my life always. The Special Editions in theaters might rank as some of the most exciting experiences I've ever had (although I somewhat lament some of the excesses of Lucas' edits, not to mention the principle). The Phantom Menace coincided with the beginnings of puberty for me, and the Prequels are tied irrevocably to my adolescence, probably explaining my boyish obsession with Natalie Portman and any girl who remotely resembles her. Revenge of the Sith symbolically was released on my 18th birthday, after the midnight showing, dressed in my Jedi robe and carrying my toy lightsaber (Obi-Wan's), I was at long last an honest to god, porn and cigarettes, draftable adult. I still measure the 31 years of human history by which Star Wars film had been released that year or which two films events fit between. To me, the OT is a sacred and perfect (yes, even ROTJ) creation, the gold standard by which all else is judged. The PT is flawed but it is still Star Wars. Like the fuck up prodigal son, as much as you detest his actions, he's still family and you will always love him. The Clone Wars to me is strictly in the EU, the equivalent of say "The Black Fleet Crisis" or "Truce at Bakura": a story which I pay little mind too or ignore completely. The fact that it has been released in theaters does not justify it. This is not my whole and perfect Star Wars, this is not the rhythm to which I stepped as a child and young man. This is apocrypha. Fanfic and nothing more. I will see it, perhaps a loathsome part of me will enjoy it to some extent. But I am officially done giving Lucas my money for this. As a testament to Star Wars' meaning to me, I will see it but I'm buying a ticket to the Dark Knight and sneaking in. You gave me Six, that was our deal. I have served my 18 years on your ship of the damned, George and while I will always treasure our time together, it's time we went our own separate ways.

Posting a script review and giving away major spoilers on films is not saving you $10. That's possibly ruining an experience, giving an often negative impression before the film's even shot and is very different to a review.

You know, Mori, I think linking back to a lot of those articles really paid of with this piece of writing. I went back and read every single once chronologically from when you first saw the Episode I trailer. Seeing the ups and downs of what you went through as a writer and a STAR WARS fan, and then coming back here to see your resolution is really just heartbreaking.
But I agree with you. I don't think you've thrown in any towels, I don't think you've given up. I think that respect and adoration in this world should be mutual. And I feel that if you have put all the time and effort and emotion into this saga, only to be constantly hammered down by GL, then you have an absolute right, almost a duty, to turn your back on him.
I agree with you 100%, I will not stop watching or reading or playing games that are connected to Star Wars. Because they are something that I've loved my entire life.
But you're right, GL has sure turned into one pompous, arrogant bully. I'm sorry for how you've been treated as a fan and a writer, and I know that might not mean much coming from some guy on a message board, but I'm with you, I know how you feel. To a degree of course. I don't write for a popular movie news website.
Good luck and all the best, TML

Aug. 15, 2008, 2:51 a.m. CST

by sloanist

It's a hint whiny and overdone and yet absolutely correct. I would be even more whiny.

..I can't help feel this was done to get back in the good books with the Talkbackers. Maybe I'm just Mr conspiracy here so if not then good for you. The weird thing is from all the interviews and documentaries I've seen with Lucas I got the clear impression he doesn't care what people think on the internet and he rarely even looks. So how come there's this 'personal' vendetta against you for a negative review amoungst thousand of negative comments and reviews about the prequals? I just don't buy it sorry. I doubt Lucas is sat in his replica Super Star Destroyer just waiting to punish Moriarty one last time, maybe he thinks he's Sherlock Holmes and has mistaken you for his nemisis! He's probably not even read a single review you or Harry has written. Maybe someone in the publicity team has it in for you yeah, but suggesting Lucas himself has a personal vendetta against you? How big in Hollywood do you think you are and how much influence do you think you have on a website which is considered an entertaining tabloid gossip column?

but you know lucas cares what we say. jar jar is one of the main character in TPM - he's practically in every scene from beginning to end. then the whole world wanted to burn that abomination at the stake, and what happened? only one small scene of jar jar in the next movie.
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so anyone still believing that lucas has integrity to stick to his gun should really find another excuse to defend that guy, because he has none now. he's just a money whore now.

Lucas isn’t a bully; he’s just a guy who tried harder than most to fight against the Internet tidal wave of leakage that spoils just about every-fucking-thing out there. Back in 1999 he didn’t want or ask for your critique and furthermore, he certainly didn’t ask for you to share that critique with the rest of the world. He wrote that script, he owned that script, and I guess my question to you is what right did you have, ethically speaking, to review something that you weren’t even supposed to possess? And then you have the audacity to call his banning of you ridiculous? You fucked this guy up the ass 10 years ago and he didn’t forget it. He’s a powerful man and you made a conscious choice to take something that belonged to him and make it public, against his wishes. You’re not a victim here and you certainly don’t have my sympathies. Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should and it really is a shame that the hard work of others is so often leaked, deconstructed, scrutinized and sometimes torn apart before it’s even finished. That’s a shitty way to have to work and I applaud Lucas for fighting back even if the cause is lost. Also, you giving Warner Bros. a pass is chickenshit. If they did screw you over at the behest of Lucas then that means they don’t value you much at all yet you give them a pass which is hypocritical and spineless on your part. The thing is, I really like your work, especially in regards to Masters of Horror, yet I’m genuinely at a loss when reading this nonsense. And by the way, an inflated pilot for an animated TV show seems like an odd place to draw a line in the sand after three decades of SW fandom.

It's too bad it happened.<p><p>It's time that LUCASFILM ended the Moriarty ban. It's unwise to upset a writer. Let the writer win. Open the ranch for Moriarty. Let him in with a small furry Ewok hug and hand him a notepad and a pencil and put him to work!

Lucas is probably a bully because deep down (if he is intellectually honest with himself) he knows he is nothing more than a two-bit hack who got lucky once, and it pains him to see his peers excel creatively while he stagnates with piss poor ideas bankrupt of any originality. It must really chafe his nuts that he didn't even direct what most fans agree is the best film of the series.<p>
His only recourse is to flex the only muscle he has by puffing out his chest (or his gut) and flaunting his power via licenses and control. He certainly has not displayed any kind of genuine imagination or creativity lately. The prequels and Indy IV were all absolute garbage. Lucas confuses financial success with artistic merit. He grasps for any type of artistic respect but only ends up crushing and destroying the things he created that gave him that power in the first place. He's like an old washed up one hit wonder rock star that prances out on the stage and keeps croaking the same old tired tune over and over again long after his act grew stale.p>
Just think how great Star Wars could be if he actually let someone else play in his universe? Someone with real talent in developing story and characters. But we won't see it. But the Emperor will never share his power with anyone. Being a bully is probably the only thing he has left to make him feel like he can control something. But hey, fuck it. If he wants to kill his own creations that's his business. I'll always thank him for the original, but he lost any respect I had for him as a filmmaker a long time ago...

if the movie is any good, no amount of web leaks and spoilers can change that fact. many things leaked with the dark knight, but look... the ratings in RT is still high, us geeks still adore it, and look at how much money it's made.
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lucas is just being a pussy. make something good, and i guaratee you no amount of leaks by AICN can make you lose money!

I couldn't decide what made you sound "stupider", this newest in your making an ass of yourself open letter series, or the link you provided to your gushing Phantom Menace script review. You're an idiot.

It's tough, I've dealt with it myself--when someone whose work I'm obsessed with thinks of me negatively. The way I get around that is by knowing that if they really got to know the real me, they'd like me and we'd be friends. Someone (Lucas) cannot judge you...hell, you've never even met the guy (have you?) Either that or, like Harry said, I tell myself it is the art and not the artist.

Now, can you promise to stop writing on the site, too? For too long you've been just as whiny and bullying as anything you claim about Lucas and his "treatment" of you. You're a conflict-of-interest mired little shit whose contribution to this site has been minimal for years now, as you've chased the Hollywood dragon and talked out of your ass. Leave the site to people whose views are informed - writers like Quint, Merrick, and Beaks... You know, the ones that actually bother to do work ont he site with some frequency, and not just when they feel like it. Just go away. Be a screenwriter or something. Oh, and take Hercules with you - Coaxial has been uninformed pap since the departure of Glen Oliver. Where's he? Bring Glen back. And please - let the door hit you on the ass on the way out.

Seriously, I'm just talking about how the text always bottlenecks the farther down it goes. Is it just me? Is it just some fluke with the old articles? Is it some strange psychological attempt to discourage people from reading them? At any rate, this whole embargo thing feels just a tad overly dramatic. It's so much ado about nothing other than hurt feelings and egos on both sides, it makes me wonder why I even visit this site, anymore.

... and I fully understand where you're coming from Mori.<p> Lucas doesn't seem to care about any of his fans anymore, he does his thing, pleasing his own urges and trying everything to earn loads of cash in the process.

I knew it back in 1999. TPM sucked, and we tried talking ourselves into the idea that it didn't suck. We apologized for it. We made excuses for it. But deep down... we knew it was over.<p> Hype, Dreams, And Well-Wishing made us believe that there was still a chance for some magic in the Star Wars universe... but it was not to be. Time gives you clarity, and perspective.<p> George Lucas has beaten this horse to death! I've lost all respect for him as a filmmaker, and a human being.<p> Mr.Lucas, Have you no decency?

Never bought into the hysterical backlash against the obviously inferior prequels - although I felt almost sick walking out of TPM. HOWEVER, having read this whole article and TB I am massively depressed about what has happened these last 10 years. Raping our childhood - maybe not. But certainly a win for business over joy.

...Moriarty's original review places The Phantom Menace above Return of the Jedi, saying it works better as a complete film. And he was right. But him and Harry have been awful revisionist about that film since its arrival. Personally, I felt the flaws of TPM became less grating upon repeat viewings, not more. But they jumped on the bandwagon with all the other critics who couldn't resist an opinion to pile on, and in his review of Revenge of the Sith, not even Attack of the Clones is considered better than Jedi, let alone The Phantom Menace. Just thought I'd point that out.

...is that he knows he has no talent, and it kills him. thats is ultimately the issue. he had one great initail idea that made him rich enough to surround himself with worthless yes-men that praised all the crap he put out after. now after all these years since 'new hope' king george wields the only real talent/power he knows he has: spitting upon and oppressing any creative criticism specifically from his poor and loyal subjects that put him on his throne to begin with... fat turkey-necked asshole.

It's a heartbreaking article to read and it can't be easy to feel your old dreams caught between the vice of a corporate empire and a fandom rebellion. Star Wars has always been milked for every penny, yet at same time has one of the more liberal relationships with its fandom in terms of fair use in tributes. At it's core is such an elemental mythology, yet at the same time its private property. Many things in life depend greatly on our own point of view ... and as we've grown up, our points of view have changed.

Unsolicited Finger In the Anus with all his new starwars products. thanks george. i have little cousins 4, 2 and 1 just born. i'll lead them down the comic book path not the star wars route. the next generation cash cow for you is being cut off here.

well everything after 1997 was lame and it just got gayer and gayer with ewoks and jarjar and now lame clone wars cartoons. Lucas has a lifetime pass for the original Star Wars but you've got to keep it real and say that most everything afterwards is 100% suck. And I know many of you love ESB...I could call you dumb but I won't.

To those of you who keep saying ‘it’s an advert for toys’, you need to do some SW history research. SW has always been aimed at kids, who, guess what, have toys. Since ANH there have been figures, books, spin off tv series and Christmas ‘specials’. This isn’t anything new, except you’re not old, grumpy and cynical. A lot of kids today love the prequals, because they’re not jaded or have a chip on their shoulder about ‘how they should have been done’. Get over it. GL may have ‘done bad things to your childhood’, but he’s made a new generation of kids excited about Sci Fi films.
As for people justifying this article. Filmmakers make critics, they keep them in a job. When the critic goes beyond what they have the right to do, legally and perhaps morally, then they deserve what they get. The whole film critic world is a big game, when you start breaking the rules don’t expect for GL to stop playing the game. Now Moriaty is whining because this site’s actions are catching up with it. What goes around comes around.

"A lot of kids today love the prequals, because they’re not jaded or have a chip on their shoulder" --- A lot of kinds today love The Jonas Brothers and Daddy Day Care. What the fuck do kids today know, other than that they are having strange feelings about Hannah Montana?

This makes me want to download this movie and give it out for free around the local schools.
Speaking as a non fan boy, i liked the movies not loved them and it seams George is working towards the dollar signs and not the artistry of actually telling a worthy story. Its all about merchandise, take the introduction of anakin's new apprentice for example, its marketed for girls, so he can tap into a new retail source because lets be honest, its mainly us boys who love this shit.
I think we are all to blame here for molding lucas into this money grabbing bastard because we have brought the light sabre, the falcon et al, hell I even brought 1 to 3 for my nephews.
So are you really surprised he has brought out a seemly big pile of turd like this?

people keep defending the prequels by saying the OT are also kiddie movies. well, they're not. not the original anyway. but even if you want to think so, there are still GOOD kid movies, and then there are CRAPS.
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and i really worry about the kinds of movies the kids today, inspired by the prequels, will make in the future.

It's sad, but I'm finally burned out on this sub-par prequel shit as well. Strangely though, I still have hope for the live action series, mainly because I keep imagining it being more edgy and centred around Boba Fett and Han Solo. What we will probably get is a kiddie series centred around Jar Jar and Wicket.

... in the book, it seems that the Hutts consider themselves one large extended family unit. Their "children" aren't children so much as they are literal extensions of themselves, like wee tiny little single-serving clones. Also, did we already know they live to be over 1000 years old?
<P>None of which is in the film, BTW.

as good as the indy one. young indiana jones chronicles, remember those?
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if lucas distance himself from the project, much like he did with the cartoon network series, then it might get a chance. otherwise, expect nightmare.

Who the fuck do you think you are??
Most of us happen to love Mori's writing and get excited whenever he offers a review or an opinion on anything! So if you have a weird kind of jealousy going on because Mori is actually going out and "walking the walk" and contributing to film, then don't speak for all of us with your negative, ass-whiping bullshit!

Because it sends the message about how pathetically irrelevant he's become. That the most important writer ont eh biggest geek site on the web can just say "You're work isn't worth discussing and won't be missed". I think its about the biggest insult you can send to an artist. not to mention it's inarguably true.

...Sons, your just plain wrong. Star Wars was a movie. Merchandise was ancillary to the actual movie. Clone Wars has no reason to exsist other than selling merchandise. We literally already had a Clone Wars cartoon. It's like claiming the Ramones were always about selling Ramones T's to emo girls. Not only that, the original trilogy may have been kid centric, but they worked for everyone. They were great films, even if they were intended primarily to entertain children. The new trilogy and this...Droids lite...Are just bad movies. Would you defend Home On The Range, simply because Snow White was made for kids too? Thats why Star Wars fans lament the prequals and all the shit associated with them.

What kind of numbing stupifying event happened you in your life to make you such a corporate windbag? What "moral code" do critics break exactly. not to mention that Moriarty doesn't write for fucking newsweek, he writes for an internet web gossip site, so he can write whatever the fuck he wants. Now Lucasfilm can ban him but it says way more about the their product than it does about his writing or crossing any boundaries. SOmething tell me you don't know the first fucking thing about the "critic game". And if you thought Lucas originally wrote Star Wars as just some children's film it shows how ignorant to the subject you really are.

What kind of numbing stupifying event happened you in your life to make you such a corporate windbag? What "moral code" do critics break exactly. not to mention that Moriarty doesn't write for fucking newsweek, he writes for an internet web gossip site, so he can write whatever the fuck he wants. Now Lucasfilm can ban him but it says way more about the their product than it does about his writing or crossing any boundaries. SOmething tell me you don't know the first fucking thing about the "critic game". And if you thought Lucas originally wrote Star Wars as just some children's film it shows how ignorant to the subject you really are.

...Its actually more effective than breaking an Embargo, or complaining that Lucas is a bitch, etc. Simply return the favour. He doesn't want his work discussed, than don't discuss, even when it suits him. Although, if I pop on here in 5 years time and see Moriarty doing a write up on a trip to the ranch after he gets unbanned, I'll be dissapointed, and go back to calling sell out and talking about the good old days.

is that the stories are far too complicated. The original Star wars movies had simple enough stories. and they were shrouded in mystery. Who were all of these people and where did they come from. Who was Darth vader. That was answered in Empire strikes back. but it added another question. IF he was lukes father how did he end up being Darth Vader. He fell under the spell of the emperor and realise this at the end and used luke to kill the emperor. The prequels were too concerned with boring politics and trade. yawnnnnnn......
<p> Unlike the rest of you I could see what Lucas was trying to do, story wise and I thought while the story was boringly dull and the preformances wooden. The prequels, looked great visually and all had at least one stand out Moment per movie. Episode 2.5 does at least have a clear enough story. the prequels told the stories of all the major characters except two. Han Solo and lando calrissian. if you have to relaunch something, then you do it by saying to the audience. This is where these people came from and this what happened to make them the characters they became. Lucas did that. but it pissed a lot of people off in the process. they are still pissed and they wont be happy untill lucas dies and then they can argue that someone else should do star wars again. but geeks are a pick bunch and god help anyone who tries to anything with the star wars franchise, they will be at the recieving at of the geeks ire and disappoinment.

Excelsior!
Mori...you are STILL WRITING ABOUT FUCKING SW!!!!!! As for the rest of you lame fucks, stop whining. It's dead. It's done. It wss done in the late '80s. I know it's sad, I know it's fucked up but it's the truth. $W is all about money. It's a huge unshakeable marketing machine. You can't repel revenue of that magnitude...unless you just don't feed it anymore. Stop buying the shitty walmart merch. Stop wasting time and money. Hopefully someday someone wrests control of this full on retard marketing juggernaut from Lucas (rights to everything), gets Kevin Anderson to script something worth watching.
And the whole thing about not using John Williams...punk faggot bitches, every last one of you traitorous cocksuckers.
Nuff Said.

We shouldn't have to wait until he's dead. That is the perfect way to revitalize the franchise. Let major directors make their own interpretations, with Lucas there for moral support only. It worked with Tartakovsky and the Clone Wars cartoon.

Its not revisionist history, it's just that we all grew up and got the stardust out of our eyes and realized how the catholic incredibly non empathetic jedis, making the force scientific, the terrible child anakin (who despite what lucas says did not have to start as an 8 year old), jar jar, and a bunch of trade federation nonsense was just the beginning of the bastardization of Star Wars.

...Storytelling wise. Its backstory, and not particuarly interesting backstory at that. It was an excuse for Lucas to play around with alot of toys and get his feet wet again. I hope. I hope the whole thing was a dry run for a real film from the turkey necked bastard.

As portrayed in the prequels, the Clone Wars were a devastating series of battles in which many people died. Yoda's face at the end of Ep 2 is, you know, serious. The battle at the start of Ep 3 is like some kind of nightmare. It's horrible. Why is it, then, that Lucas keeps saying in interviews that doing the Clone Wars was an opportunity to have some 'fun'. One of the things I love about the prequels is that they do at least take the subject matter - and its obvious parallels to real life - seriously.

...Is that everyone knows everyone. in the O.T, Jabba was some fat criminal out on a planet somewhere. But now he has an intrinsic role to play in the universe. Same with Bobba Fett. It SHRINKS the scope and epic feel of the O.T. Makes it all seem like some petty small town squabble. Just saying.

Lucas explains nothing in the prequels. he wastes time for two movies with cheap overly melodramatic characterization of Anakin and then, when he realizes he has no linchpin for his darkside fall, throws in some horrible premonition about Padme dying which, when it finally comes true, anakin does nothing about. That's not where those characters come from according to the OT. First of all padme doesn't die according to the OT. Also Anakin and Obi Wan are friends according to the OT when in fact Anakin just seems to hate obi Wan, who is pretty much ambivalent to the whole thing. In the OT we are told that Anakin hunted down the Jedi, this is bullshit as they went down in some ridiculous "plan 66" sequence that made them look like complete fucking idiots. And if you call that two dimensional writing and porn level acting showing where the characters came from then you are flat out insane. i at least expect competent storytelling. Lucas didn't give us that. you act like simply because he made the films that we should be grateful that whatever crap he came up with exists. The Star Wars legacy would be far better off without the prequels.

... as soon as you've got all the moolah in the world in one place, and you can show that to a third-party independent ref who can verify you do, indeed, have all the moolah in the world, I will take that bet, good sir. See you back here in 2010.

The article was on CHUD. They were watching copy and originally he spoke huttese and out of nowhere Lucas just says "I want him to sound like Truman Capote" and the director just had to do it. It's a story right from the directors mouth. If that doesn't show you what a fucking brain dead, artistically bankrupt, egomaniacal pig George Lucas has become I don't know what does. that he can just come up with a completely fucking over the top ridiculous bad idea on a whim and people just have to do it speaks volumes.

That once again re-affirms the credibility of this site despite so many people wanting to label it as, sold out. The fact that none of the these people are working writers in a notoriously vindictive industry undermines their arguments. There's no doubt, to my mind, that your opinions and reviews have cost you work and connections in the film business yet your position seem to stay firm. Thank you.

Star Wars lit the touch paper in the imagination of an entire youthful 70's generation. It's now locked in the vault as the most precious jewel of millions of child hoods. It the key that split open your imagination. For every tiny spectacular detail in Star Wars there were an infinite number of questions that lit up your mind like Time's Square. To this day you can watch it with wonder.
Subsequently for the last 30 years like a secret group of Templar Knights with a shared subconscious we all protect it's legacy as a silent ruthless mass.
It's ownership is ours. It's our right. After all once you release something it's handed over to the audience, they ultimately give it life.
I would argue that from 1980 onwards Lucas closed his account. Empire's greatness was still supplied by the same engine room but it is was Irvin Kershner, Leigh Brackett and lawrence Kasden who gave us the Bourne Star Wars of Empire Strieks Back. It's been Ewok's and Jar Jar's ever since.
Episode IV will always stand as one of the great pillars up their with Jason and The Argonauts, The Original Superman
The Imperial juggernaut of commerce that is Skywalker Ranch has been on cruise control for 28 years. Take your 8 years olds and vibe on their fun because that's who it is all about now. Product through, characters based on demographics and not story lines and legacy and ringing cash registers.
It's time to disband the Templar Knights and stop picking on the carrion of a worthy epic from over 30 years ago. Hell, I've been writing the 3 films that follow Return Of The Jedi in my head for 10 years and it has to stop!!!
See Pixar, Zack Snyder, Peter Jackson, Weta, Guillermo Del Torro, Marvel's developing cinematic universe, Chris Nolan, JJ Abrams(although I hate Treckie stuff), Paul Greengrass if you are in need of a creative kick.

That story reminds me of a sketch on MadTV where Lucas is dressed up like an ewok and riding a golf cart. That seems like the kind of Lucas that would say "I want him to sound like Truman Capote." Apparently he really is that crazy.

Ok, please understand I don’t belong to the “George can do no wrong, the prequels were perfect” camp. Much as enjoy your writing and do sympathise with your POV - I still think it’s time for a reality check.
George runs a large company, well several large companies. Like all money making empires (which I don’t say as a criticism) it’s necessary for him to have more department heads and management types than there are stars in the sky. THEY are the people you should be slinging mud at if anyone
The guy is barely seen by many of his staff. He just has to have enough other stuff going on in his life that it’s a miracle he finds a moment to blow his nose, let alone deal with this kind of crap.
It’s obvious that he barely knows what’s on the ‘official site’ so why on earth would he need to give a wamp-rat’s ass about what’s happening at Aint-it-cool? THAT’S JUST NOT HIS JOB. There’s no way he wouldn’t have the time to give a frak, come on – do you honestly think he would?
I’ll give you one thing - I’ll bet there’s a small army of ‘suits’ that are looking to impress my protecting his property to excess (you only have to go to Celebration to meet a few of those). But you really need to let go of the “I have a personal relationship with Lucas - and he hates me”. I can see why that would happen, but it is a little sad. And judging from articulately and eloquently you write, you should really be above that ;)
He doesn’t care what you think, he doesn’t need to – but he undoubtedly has a few over zealous arseholes working for the company who do.

i was a massive star wars fan...just like millions of other people out there, i knew all the nerdy facts about the characters, ships and planets...i loved star wars...but now i really don't care anymore and i haven't for a long time...lets face it, its all about making money.and its all about the toys, books etc...that's why there are 30 different kinds of clone trooper in episode 3 so he can make more toys and make more money, i go into my local comic store and theres toys based on designs, based on comics character designs,based on the cartoons...i think the only character he hasn't made into a toy is her from the golden girls singing about all being friends...if you want to get at Lucas theres 1 way...STOP BUYING HIS +:@? don't go and see the movie...don't go and buy star wars dolly's...HARRY DON'T BUY A $200 MILLENEIUM FALCON...hit him in the pocket...AND FAN BOYS MOVE ON...theres better movies out there...FACT!!! theres better sci fi (most of which Lucas ripped off anyways) theres better written, better acted, better directed...just all round better movie going experience's...star wars was of its time...but that time has passed...i loved star wars and i wish it was still as great as it was...but hes improved it into a disaster...lets just talk about something else.becuase its not worth the breath

So Mori says Lucas has a personal vendetta against him because of a review he wrote years ago and you believe him? No proof, no emails nothing HAHAHAHAHHH! Some of you deserve AICN and insane hate filled TB's!
Pure Genius Moriarty, you've taken the more extreme TB's hatred of Lucas (as pointed out by Vern) and used it to get back in their good books without any evidence at all! Well done *clap clap*

I was also six years old when I saw Star Wars in the theater, and I still remember it...it was one of those moments that actually changes your brain chemistry, alerts you to new possibilities in the world. The best of it since has been only an echo of that first moment, the burst of music and the title crawl and the Star Destroyer, the freewheeling energy and total storytelling confidence. Empire succeeded because it raised the stakes and had real tension, but it really has been all downhill from there. I like parts of the prequels. Just parts here and there, where you can see how good they COULD have been, which is very disappointing because of the impact of that first exposure... I'm just as likely to come away from viewing the prequels (something I do very rarely) with a sense of disappointment and missed opportunity as with a sense of any real enjoyment. As for Clone Wars, maybe when my son gets old enough to watch the movies, I might throw this in for completion's sake. Or maybe not. Until then, nope.

what do you expect - theyre "leaked" - stolen - were they sent to you by lucasfilm? - even if you like the (nefariously acquired) scripts - theyre not officially out there - a big no no to a lot of film makers/studios/writers - are you guys shocked - banned from the ranch - embargoes - the hints cant be more obvious - lucas and co. dont want this site reviewing scripts for their unreleased movies, or (now) even posting early reviews for their movies - sometimes being a rabid fan can bite you in the ass - i like sw too, but come on - it doesnt consume me to the point that id track down illegal copies of scripts and spill the beans online weeks if not months before release - no wonder they hate this site - what did you expect, a medal? - so now lucas made a stupid animated sw movie for kids - big deal - in 2 weeks it will be forgotten

I read through and it sounds like a child that did not get what it wanted. Sorry, but you can think about Star Wars whatever you want, fact is that it is big business. The whole thing is done to earn money, all major companies try to "keep" there secrets, so why should it be different with Lucasfilm. I do not understand the reaction and i do not think this is very professional.

Off course he know what´s going on in his own company and I´m damn sure he gets informed about bad publicity (and it sure bothers him if lots of people miss the screenings ´cause of bad rep), he heavenly regressed as a moviemaker and storyteller in the last 20 years and put his stinky fingers on other works, that could have been great without his involvement (Yeay, Indy 5 was a freaking crapfest!!!). And he comes over as an complete ignorant, self centered dick, thinking of himself as "future of filmmaking". Come on, fuck him!!!

Jesus Christ. "I'll show you, Lucas, I'll never write about Star Wars again! Fucker!" Lucas clearly doesn't listen to critics (or anyone, for that matter), let alone some whiny fanboy critic that doesn't know how to actually REVIEW movies anymore. I hate to break it to you, but you're just not that important. You really think he sits around reading this stupid site? "I'm gonna make a shitty cartoon Star Wars, and then I'm gonna put an embargo on it and wait till that Moriarty fucker reviews it, then I'm gonna stick a cease and desist up his ass! HAHAHA. REVENGE!!!" You're ridiculous.

It's become more and more obvious that the Lucas of the prequels and embargoes and product like this is the real George Lucas, the technocrat, and not the storyteller who made American Graffiti and the original Star Wars. Star Wars succeeded almost by accident. I have the Rolling Stone interview from '76 where he says something like Star Wars is only about 25% of what he wanted it to be. In hindsight, the limitations that made it only a quarter of what he wanted made it a better film, even if it is technologically inferior to his vision. Empire Strikes Back was created by real filmmakers, so it works, too. Once he got enough money to develop the technology he wanted, the storytelling became subservient to the image. So we have what we have now - pretty pictures but only a shadow of the soul. Too bad. What Star Wars really needs is a nice long nap, like the 16 years that passed between Jedi and TPM. Then maybe someone with someone more interested in stories than images can make something of it.

lucas doesnt read this stuff - but it does get back to him - obviously - with a short memo on a post-it he can see to it that someone is banned from his studio (ranch?) and a whole website full of critics is kept grom posting early reviews - it happened

i can almost see why aicn was given an embargo as opposed to some other sites. i won't lie, I'm a HUGE star wars fan, enough to get the fett man tattooed on my arm, but since i saw the first trailer for this, i've had no interest in seeing it. all i saw was an attempt to get money from an even younger generation of people, and it makes me puke. shit, i could stand ewoks, but fuck this shit.

... And as if George Lucas even knows who you are, McWeeney. You flatter yourself. Banned From the Ranch, in all caps, puhlease! So, basically, you're like everybody else then, huh? Get over your self-pretentious love of this product. It does not make you special, it does not make you unique.

Like you and Harry, Mori, Star Wars was a cherished and protected part of my childhood. I've been defending the saga, fandom, and obsession from my friends and family since I could talk. It was the first movie my father had ever taken me to, at 3 years old. Not to recount the dozens of reasons why Master Yoda and Luke would be my childhood heroes - and be a large part of the bond my father and I had shared when our relationship was new and untainted by time - nay, sentimentality with these movies for folks like us is a given.
<p>It drove us to look for toys in the wee hours of the morning, feeling the thrill of success at the rare Darth Maul, or the mint Yoda you'd stumble upon.
<p>It drove us to camp outside movie theaters for Episode One, after the years of anticipation, never once believing you were again about to see a FUCKING STAR WARS MOVIE PREMIERE! Friends were found in line, and memories were made from the experience.
<p>It made a lot of us pick up novels again, to experience the rebirth of our beloved saga, the continuation of the Skywalker struggle. (although I've always been a reader, the Zahn novels made a lot of my friends into Potter buying bookworms)
<p>It drove us to bring our friends into the rebirth of Star Wars, many of them becoming giant fanboys (and fangirls) as well. Spending endless hours of conversation on the what-ifs and untold stories of the Jedi Universe.
<p>Honestly, sitting here typing this rudimentary fanboy list, I can't believe all the nostalgia and wonder that I felt for a thing I've loved so dearly for so long is...gone. Almost completely gone.
<p>I bought the Clone Wars Yoda last night for myself, as I just happened to walk by a WalMart stock clerk putting a case of the new stuff out. It is sitting in front of me and I'm wondering why I bought it. Am I holding onto something that's deeper down than Star Wars? How can I know at this point, after all the letdown and frustration and embarrassment of the past 10 years?
<p>I've tried ridiculously hard, like Harry, to find the silver strands of the prequels that could tie it all together for me, but then works such as the LOTR trilogy and the new Batman movies completely trivialize Lucas' piss poor excuses for saga installments. Part of the reason why people have a problem with this man and his current work is that he pissed it all away. He is capable of so much more, but the very same flaws of his fictional Jedi antihero are ironically his very problem - pride and anger. Pride that he thinks he can do it all himself, and anger/spite for anyone else that ever wanted a say in his creations.
<p>All that aside, Star Wars got ruined for me along the way. It more now than just 6 movies and tie-ins. It's a failed opportunity to continue the joy, wonder, and magic that was set in motion 30 years ago.
<p>I've been gradually selling all the memorabilia I've collected in the name of Star Wars over the past year. And not one of the items tugs at my heart strings as it goes. My little girl and her brother used to play with my opened Star Wars toys all the time, while watching the movies - and I had hoped they would be fortunate enough to have their wonder and imagination sparked as I did in my youth.
<p>Now, they look at the toys with their friends and say, "Daddy, Star Wars is stupid."
<p>Indeed.

you don't believe important people in the industry read this site. And that nothing ever gets done because of the online hype community. People within the industry, top people, read sites like this all the fucking time and decisions get made as a direct result of them. It's just common knowledge. If you dont think george lucas reads or at least keeps an ear to sites like this then you havent read an interview with the man in the past 5 years, all the fucker talks about is how the fans dont like Star Wars and how they are big jerks because of it. Read the Entertainment weekly joint Spielberg Lucas interview where Lucas practically has a meltdown about the fans and their reactions. Seriously read it it's delicious. But moreover from some of you it sounds like you don't WANT to have a voice. COnstantly degrading Mori as if its not only preposterous that his voice would be heard, but silly that any of us could make a difference. As if the people here in LA are Gods on olympus never meddling in mortal affairs. Well guess what, they walk among us, every day, and they give a fuck what we think, big time. it's not only defeatist to think otherwise, its also violently wrong. Just ask McG, who seems to spend as much time sucking up to this site as he does shooting the new Terminator and in fact we may have all been spared the indignity of that horrible John Connor dies and is replaced by a robot ending specifically because of a report Moriarty posted a few months back. So you corporate loving film hating schills can suck long and hard on that one.

Then why the hell did you get so bitter about US complaining about it?
BTW, why burn your bridges? You're making a good point but do you really want to send this kind of message? Brave but maybe a bit rash?

You nailed it. Lucas has fucked over so many people by taking advantage of the fact tha we geeks will do anything for the priveledge to watch anything with the SW name on it. I had every intention of seeing this film but after this mess, I think I will save my 11 Euros.

Drew, I've always respected your reviews, and thought of you as one of the few sane, intelligent voices on this site. For instance, I thought your championing of the small, under-represented film 'Outlander' was one of the classiest things I've seen in years on AICN. I've always thought of you as level headed, down to earth and brimming with true, fanboy passion. Until now. I'm ashamed for you. You've let this silly little fanboy exercise go to your head. Seriously. Yeah, I get it: you're John Constantine, and 'ol "Fortress" Lucas is the devil, with a personal vendetta against you. Because you're such an irresistible force in Hollywood. The next tumble along that slippery slope is swaggering around, yelling at anyone who crosses you, "Do you know who I am?!" Please tell me you haven't fallen that far yet, Drew. I know people who do that, I'm sorry to say, and it is the ugliest, most shameful thing in the world, no matter who they are. Get a GOOD movie made, buddy, then start a feud with someone who's name we've all heard, and then maybe we'll all sit up and take notice. Frankly, I don't give a damn if you never write another word again -- on Star Wars or otherwise. You're just not that important.

Congratulations. It's time that those horrible Lucasfilm people start to consider their audience as people and not only as cash cows and reviewers as human beings entitled to an opinion and not dangerous revisionists who could damage their "products". Products yes, since it's the only way Lucas consider star wars now. Art has been forgotten looong ago. Embargo on opinion? I answer by : Boycott what Star Wars has become. Don't give your money to Clone Wars.

After reading your reviews of Clones and Sith i'm wondering why you don't have them on DVD? Strange. Must be tough having a hero treat you like shit though. Don't blame you for the way you are reacting.

It's pretty clear Mori's been trying to get back into Lucas' good graces after that ep 1 review (why so defensive Mori? you were right!) and it's been almost painful to watch as he heaps praise on everything star wars since that fateful day. even this movie - which I hear has a character named Stinky the Hut. That should be the review. "Stinky The Hut". Right there, that tells us everything we need to know about the film. But now Mori's playing the victim card - hoping Lucas will feel bad and reinstate him. I feel sorry for the guy.

Nope....sometimes it's both. I had the displeasure of meeting Prince in person - the next day I brought my entire collection all the way from 'Dirty Mind' to his most recent work to Amoeba Records in Hollywood and sold everything. I can't listen to the guy knowing he's such an egotistical dick.

he's obviously important enough to act like a complete fool, misunderstanding the entire point of the article in your own self absorbed rage. It sounds more like you are jealous of the idea that mori has a louder voice than you (which he does) than youa re angry at any sort of hubris from his corner. Its been PROVEN time and time against his site does in fact have a voice. Many insiders have said it over and over again. So while you may sit and wallow in your own insignificance, mori need do no such thing.

Like I said, I don't agree with every creative decision he's made over the years. Ain't it cool undoubtedly has an impact on fandom. But George really doesn't have to worry about it. He pays someone to. No one here sould flatter themself that he has to give a shit personally. You're not even on his radar.

trawling the internet looking for bad reviews and comments about his work. They pass this info to Lucas via post-it-notes. He then sits there for years plotting evil schemes and diabolical embargoes thinking to himself, "I'll get you all my little pretties, oh yes...I'll get you all one day." ROTFLMAO!

I've always agreed about the "raped my childhood" thing. I am going to see Clone Wars but might wait for DVD. All that said, your sentiments are something I never believed from the talkbackers and other posters on the site, but once you said it, the thing about Lucas being a bully, it feels real. I don't want him to be an asshole, but the evidence is clearly there.

Judd Apatow quoted him at both Comic-Con and on Conan O'Brien. Which means that Apatow, who is currently one of the most successful producers working in Hollywood, was slogging through the Talkbacks reading reactions to his film. Why would a successful producer like Judd Apatow spend his valuable time reading the opinions of internet fanboys if they didn't matter?

Just when you thought the writers at AICN had run out of excuses to make the reviews about themselves instead of the movie, Moriarty one ups everyone. I don't think that was even 50/50 biography to movie. Damn.

Lucasfilm seems to have prejudged AICN reaction to the film - not just Mori despite any feud- and blocked the site. Anyone who comes here should dislike that and anyone who thinks the site / contributers have no impact or influence should consider why the embargo was enforced here and only here, to the best of my knowledge, in the first place.

He set some of you guys free. You're free of Star Wars' grip on your life. Thousands of lives ruined all across the globe by SW obsession. I guess he realized he created a monster, and it took him three movies and a fucking cartoon to kill it.

Come on guys, this is pure shit, I saw a special on The Clone Wars on G4 last night. The only people I can see going to this are parents with kids under 10 years old, but any guy who over the age of 18 and goes see this deserves all they get now in the SW universe, more shit. If this movie tanks, Lucas will finally realize that SW fans want quality, but if it makes a zillion dollars this weekend, then he will keep churning out and wont think twice. Send Lucas a message, if you put out shit, we won't come.

...that my opinion (expressed anonymously on a message board) would directly influence someone like Lucas, but you'd be naive to think it didn't make an impact. I guarantee come Monday morning that Mr. Lucas will be acutely aware of the consensus about his new "film." Of course, he's probably used to fanboy backlash and is undoubtedly immune to its effects (billions of dollars help insulate one from such criticisms).

Lucas is fully funded. I agree that we should stop paying for his undercooked product, but at this point any money he nets is simply a cherry on top of his billion dollar sundae. They only way to effectively impact his wallet is by inventing a time machine. Is there a Doc Brown in the house?

dreaming about the Clone Wars I didn't have a half-assed animation in my mind. Star Wars spinoffs have always been terrible, and this new one is no exception. Now if Lucas had put some effort, thought and imagination into a live-action Clone Wars movie, something like the last half hour of Episode II, that might have been worth a watch. But, Stinky the Hutt? Come on George, get a grip.

Mori, you are so on the fucking money with this one. I was literally FURIOUS when I read about you being Ban-inated. I seriously thought you must have stomped on his puppy or something for that reaction, but no... it was just you talking about Star Wars. Wah, George. Wah.<br><br>At this rate, it's almost not worth it to even bother with anything Lucas-related when it comes to Star Wars. Everything worth a damn is either EU (which he despises, don't believe the hype) or created by BioWare/Obsidian. Maybe one day, when he's dead and gone, one of his kids (or whoever has the keys to this whole engine of doom) will allow other people to step up and play in the sandbox. Lucas reminds me of God. He created an immense universe, one of incredible vision and beauty. And he fucking dropped the ball to focus on only one area. And that area ain't us. (Right around here, my metaphor falls apart.) Maybe someday he'll realize that ... oh fuck it, Lucas is so 1970's/80's. I think I'm done, too. Wasn't going to bother with this shit anyways.

Enough of this idiot. Just fire him and be done with it. How many times in the past have you had to slap his hand, Harry? Remember the entire thread you had to pull off the site of McWeeny bitching about the death of Anna Nichole Smith? Just fire him and be done with it.

"You've sold out Mori, AICN sucks etc etc." so then Mori says, "Psst, it was all Lucas's" fault now everyone is like, "Mori is a god! AICN rules we forgive you! Lucas is the instrument of Satan!" Hilarious.

I've noticed that when most of the staff review a movie, the user review seem to get cut back a bit. I'm okay with that. Seriously, I liked TDK, but if every single user review was posted I would've hung myself. That being said, is AICN going to take the same approach with this movie. I mean with all the drama that is surrounding this movie involved with this site, I just don't see a safe way out of this. Don't post user reviews and its censorship (people will refer to Capone's review: WE HAVE THE POWER). Post the reviews (which will probably be negative) and it will look like you are attacking Lucas and Co. I really feel for everyone at AICN, being in this shitty situation. Good Luck.

were considered the new kings of hollywood. This was in the late seventies early 1980s. When you reach 60. then you are no longer new or relevant. Sid lumet is the exception to the rule. the man is making films well into his 80's without CGI. LUcas and the berg loved CGI and Lucas did more than anyone to push the envelope. Directing Star wars a new hope broke the young lucas, emotionally and mentally. this was the same man who made American Graffiti. that movie proved that lucas could make a film without effects. There was a event that took place in his early life that I think effected him more than he has ever let on and that was his car accident. But lucas career his been marred by the falling out he has had with the likes of Scorscese, coppolla and deplama. Who all said that early screeening was the worst thing they had ever seen. When speilberg said that it would make 100 million(it made 300 million). Then and there, he decided that he decided that would never again tolerate negative criticism. one story that I have read goes like this. Lucasfilm used to have a company barbeque. lots of people went including some journalists. However when lucas started to read negative press. those people were not invited anymore. He started to employ security to make sure that people who had written nasty stuff and who had turned up uninvited were quickly escorted off the premises and were warned not to come back. It is obvious to me from what I have read about him in john baxters book that he simply really doesnt care. and has not cared for a very long time and that both he and the berg, what ever passions they had as young men are long gone.

If you look at guys who have become successful like Lucas and the Wachowskis, the insulated delusions only seem to grow exponentially with the successes. This latest control freak stunt of Lucas is typical. Read the Vanity Fair article about "Crystal Skull" in which he proudly declares his unwillingness to change even the most minute detail of his original 'vision' (he still uses yellow notepads and pencils to write, which is fine on its own, but he refuses to change that like it's some kind of artistic intergrity issue. Such bullheadedness in dealing with such a trite issue goes a long way in explaining the massive 'head in the sand' problems of the prequels, the Clone Wars, Crystal Skull, etc.) Speilberg shouldn't waste his time on another Indiana Jones movie, and I'm glad Moriarty isn't going to waste his time writing about star wars anymore. We should all do the same.

The reason why TDK is kicking ass left and right at the box office (besides the fact that it's fucking brilliant) is because the Nolans took into account that the people who like Batman, are NOT kids, but adults who wanted their hero to grow up along with them. Lucas has missed this point entirely. He keeps making movies for kids, but he doesn't realize how much better they would be if he made them for the kids who made him rich in the first place and who are all grown up now. I realize that Star Wars will be like Disney product. They will continue to make these long after we are all wormfood, but the idea that they are all inferior sucks. George Lucas needs to stop thinking of his entire audience as fat nerds who dress up in costumes and realize that the people who are gonna bring more butts to the theaters are grown up and are expecting something more adult. He's got to know that ESB is lots of Star War fans favorites.

You obviously enjoy writing about Star Wars and judging from the amount of talkbacks the Star Wars posts usually produce, we enjoy reading them. I started following this site about a year before The Phantom Menace came out and the articles this site produced in anticipation of the film added more to the excitement of it's big release. The talkbacks that come from these posts are some of the funniest things I've ever read. I love this site and I hope the embargo situation doesn't produce less Star Wars posts. Please continue.

and NOT own a copy of the prequels? They're an important component of the Star Wars universe. I only have about 350-400 DVDs in my collection, but I have ALL the Star Wars projects, every single one, including the Holiday Special.

You kick him in the nuts and step on his neck. His 70 lb, goitered neck. I pay Lucas back for his utter disdain for our fandom every time I watch my bootleg copies of his "product". He can be raped, too.

John Baxter's book on Lucas is a hackjob, highly inaccurate and, in some place, just made up. In the words of DePalma himself: "If I hear one more time how I slated Star Wars...I mean, I was rooting for Star Wars 100%, we all were."

hear hear. i fucking LOVE star wars (check my login name, kenobi RULES in all incarnations), but i have to agree with you on this one. the original trilogy will never be replaced in my heart, but there's less and less i find worthy in every thing that's been produced since. the kenobi character is the only one who comes out basically unstained in this whole mess.

But seemingly only WEB SITES were affected by this. CHUD had to hold their review back for about a week until today, as Devin has posted about over there. James Berardenelli also had to hold his review back over on ReelViews. The one consistent thing I can see is that this is going across WEB-BASED ONLY media, but does not extend to anything that is a respected PRINT publication as well - i.e. Variety, for example.

AMEN SIR. everyhtign you said i nyour first post matches my feelings exactly. Mori, and especially Harry, and the other reviewers on this site have reahced a new levels of immaturity regardign their takes and treatment of this film. Not to defend it. I haven't seen it. but the childish way in which they have reacted to this film and recent events is truly pathetic.

I wish everyone who's still complaining about Lucas would wake up and realize he hasn't done anything that was really good since Raiders. Right after that his wife cheated on him & left him for some other dude. That may have had a great impact on him, as from that point on he was only interested in developing the technology side of films, and it shows. Clone Wars should not be seen by anyone over the age of 12, unless you're bringing your kid. Get lives, and stop complaing about the obvious. You all should have jumped down Lucas' goitered neck back in '83 when he almost practically ruined Jedi. Next time you assholes are at a convention, if you want to do something about all this, and you see that little troll Lucas sends around to push his toys, Steven Sanshit, heckle him while he's talking about taking your money for this overpriced replica crap, and tell him to go fuck himself.

He used to be a storyteller, he used to be a director, but now he's so high off of his own supply that he's got two gimps in Imperial Guards uniforms jerking him off while he's writing his shitty scripts.
I'm not seeing this movie, I'm not watching the TV shows, and George Lucas...I no longer believe you exist. You've become Darth Sacul, the biggest douchebag of the universe. George Lucas died before writing his prequel trilogy, and you just snatched it up.

Seriously, you on the rag? Your First BUZZKILL column, admonishing people for spreading what you deemed "dumb rumors" even though you spend every waking day of your life doing exactly that.
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Now you're berating us for a turn of phrase re: George Lucas when you've expressed similar feelings. Who made you the fucking word police?
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If you're having a bad week, that's one thing. But don't go climbing onto a high horse and start thinking you're btter than us - you are JUST LIKE US. Exactly the same. So take your hypocritical condescension and shove it.

AICN was not the only site embargoed. Nearly everyone except Variety and Hollywood Reporter was embargoed. 5 seconds on Google will take you to a host of articles on other sites talking about being embargoed on this film.

<p>You don't get it, do you Mori? It's a joke of a phrase. Nobody is anywhere near serious about it. It's simply meant to portray how George Lucas took such a great franchise (well the first two were great anyway, Jedi leaves something to be desired when I re-watch it as an adult but the first two still hold up as great films to this day) and crapped on it. The prequels, specifically the first two prequels and to a somewhat lesser extent the third, piss directly on the original movies. From midichlorians, to the revisionist way Obi-Wan meets Anakin to the poop and fart jokes. It makes a mockery of the original trilogy.</p>
<p>You can claim the original trilogy are kids movies all you want, you're wrong. I can go back to the original trilogy and with the exception of the Ewoks in the third flick there is nothing in them aimed only at children. These were movies that could be enjoyed by people of all ages and still can be enjoyed by people of all ages today. There is no whiny teenage angst. There are no cartoon characters who talk in a manner a 4 or 5 year old would find cute but an adult finds horribly annoying, there are no idiot droids who preform slapstick comedy ... in fact ... compared to the prequels there is very, very little "slapstick" comedy schlock in the originals and what is there is mostly funny and can elicit a laugh instead of a rolling of your eyes. Sure there is some, but it's in no way shape or form on the scale that it is there in the prequels, especially in the first two films.<p>
<p>When I look over the entire 6 films and re-watch them Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back are great films. Jedi is a good film and only really misses the mark with the Ewoks, who I admittedly did like as a kid but when I rewatch as an adult seem out of place. Nothing about the first two films feels out of place rewatching as an adult. The vast majority of the original trilogy is clearly aimed at people of all ages.
Not so with the prequels where the first movie is aimed at 5 year olds and second seems to be aimed at 16 year olds. With the prequels the first movie is unwatchable with the possible exception of the first 10 or 15 minutes and the last 10 or 15 minutes. I have seen it several times and I have no desire to watch anything in between and probably never will again. Attack of the Clones is mostly unwatchable until the last 30 - 45 minutes or so. They make Anakin Skywalker into a whiny anst ridden teenage tool. It's borderline obnoxious. Again, I've seen it several times and have no desire to watch anything but the last 30 - 45 minutes ever again. Revenge of the Sith is the only of the prequel trilogy I have any desire to see again. I think it's an average Star Wars film that is really hurt by the mistakes made in the first two. Anakin's turn is jarring because the firs two movies don't sell you on his love for Padme and if you don't buy into that you can't buy into his turn. That and he shows little capactiy for evil prior to his turn except for the scene in Attack of the Clones where he kills the people (and their children) who were responsible for the death of his mother. Again, the mistakes of the first two films hurt the third.</p>
<p>In summary, Lucas did rape my childhood. He pissed on a great franchise and proved that he's a talentless hack and that the real reason the first trilogy was good is because he didn't have total control. He colaborated with others, didn't have an unlimited budget and didn't try to do everything on his own. His ego was more in check then and it's obvious by the abortion that were the first two prequels. I stronly feel that the only reason the 3rd prequel is any good is because, again, Lucas found himself in a box. There were certain things, setup by the first trilogy, that had to occur in that final film and it is the gravity of those events that makes the film good. If he wasn't bound by what had to happen in the third movie I can garuntee you it would have been shit. Just like the first two.</p>

You're acting like a crybaby, claiming your done with Star Wars because of big bad Lucas. We all know that's bullshit, but aside from that, this is really just another tactic, (a wimpy one at that) to try and get yourself un-blacklisted. Wah. Way to cave. I guarantee you it won't help you get back into the Ranch, and now you've drop kicked your pride as well. Way to go.
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I do apologize for the antagonistic double post but, really, what the hell is going on with you? This so unlike you. Quit whining about rumors and GL and get back actually writing something befre you lose your readers. You're not a bitter old man yet, are you?
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ARE YOU?

<p>I was born in 1981. My mom swears she took me to see Return of the Jedi in the theater, but damned if I can remember the experience. Still, thanks to VHS, I was a HUGE Star Wars nut. It was one of my favorite things in the world, and took up a disproportionate amount of my passion and energy as a youngster. I watched the movies, I scoured yard sales and flea markets for the action figures or those Burger King glasses. I coveted all that was Star Wars.</p>
<p>I dreamt about new Star Wars movies all the time. One day in the early 90s, I was tagging along to the grocery store and spotted Timothy Zahn's HEIR TO THE EMPIRE hardcover on a rack. I scooped it up like a junkie finding a bag of smack at a bus stop. It was the first book I ever bought (well, had my parents buy, that is) that was non-paperback. "They're gonna make this book into new movies!" I said to my mom in the checkout line. (God bless her for at least pretending to share my enthusiasm. I think she was just happy to see me excited about something, anything. I was a downbeat kid.) As I read that book I could literally hear John Williams' music and Ben Burtt's sound effects ringing out in my ears. </p>
<p>Coming of age in that time between the two trilogies was a unique experience. Any little shred of STAR WARS was cause for excitement of an intensity I haven't really ever felt again about some fictional property. I remember seeing CLERKS for the first time and being rendered slack-jawed with amazement that two characters were discussing the Death Star II's construction or having the EMPIRE/JEDI debate. I remember spending an hour and half downloading the SPECIAL EDITION trailer over my dad's old 56K dial-up modem. I watched that thing probably more than any other online video...OK, JENNA LOVES BRIANNA might be right up there, too...</p>
<p>The SPECIAL EDITION era was the first time I visited AICN. I remember that first piece of production art from EPISODE I showing a transport vessel on Corruscant...I remember all the crazy rumors and just the unbearable excitement that we were finally getting new STAR WARS movies. It was awesome. </p>
<p>I guess the best part of this whole CLONE WARS debacle could be Moriarity's article right here. What a great post-mortem for Star Wars, and I say that as someone who more than liked THE PHANTOM MENACE. But Mori has captured the essence of what Star Wars peeps have been through. I think pretty much 90% of geekdom was at first brought together by Star Wars. Star Wars for decades has been a litmus test---oh, shit, you have a Yoda Pez dispenser...I know you're cool, or at least in the same quadrant of cool as I am. </p>
<p>So now comes CLONE WARS...the first Star Wars movie that has not got me excited at all, it's like barely registered on my geek radar. And it sucks because it's for 8 year-olds and it's basically a glorified pilot for the TV series. I had it pegged from the first trailer as not anything worth getting my panties in a bunch about. </p>
<p>But the embargo and all this bullshit has finally done it, it's finally but Star Wars to bed.</p>
<p>Though, like that kid in the grocery store clutching HEIR TO THE EMPIRE like a maniac, there's still a sliver of that crazed excitement left in me somewhere. The live action show better be fucking awesome, George.</p>

AICN I mean come on how important do you think you really are. Sure you do reviews & leak news but so do many other sites. You also run biased reviews which have obviously been influenced by the amount of freebies or set access given (or not in this case).
Lucas may have lost his storytelling touch but he still gave the world Indy & Star Wars. ILM pushed the VFX envelope for many years.THX & TAP improved Sound & Picture quality. Editdroid improved the way movies are digitally edited.
So Lucas has as an artist done a lot for the world of cinema (probably more than anyone else- can you name 1 other person who put so much of their wealth back into movies. Doubt it as their is no-one!).
Lucas also has a long history of holding personal grudges against media outlets which leak news he wants kept as secret until the movie is out (the late great Fred Clarke of Cinefantastique leaked ROTJ plot points and CFQ got a very long ban from getting any co-operation from Lucasfilm PR because of this).
Lucas is understandably a little upset that he got so much fanboy hate from creating a PT which many hardcore OT fans hated and who can blame him if he wants to veto who gets to visit his Ranch. Would anyone else do things much differently, its like you insult someone then expect to be welcomed into their home.
Not going to happen is it.

... and it prolly ain't much, even though you enjoyed two piece of crap movies this year, just horrible, horrible films (Love Guru and this piece of shit), this statement of REBELLION against the Evil Empire of Lucas has earned back my respect that I lost for you from the Love Guru review.<br><br>I mean, I told people I know about your review a week before that shit-pile came out, and said it was going to be good because the one sane reviewer on AICN said it would be. And I'm a film snob who maintains an aura of detesting shit movies, because I do. I lost a lot of movie-pull with my friends because of that.<br><br>But all is forgiven now. You stance is one I believe more and more Star Wars Geeks will be turning on Lucas.<br><br>For them, let me say, start reading the books. Start with the Thrawn Trilogy, which is brilliant, and basically Episodes 7, 8, and 9 in their own right. I prefer the books, starting with Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy through New Jedi Order, although the last set of books (Legacy of the Force) were so uneven with SPOILER WARNING!!! Jacen turning into Darth Caedus and everything.<br><br>So this is what I suggest for you, Mori. Start Toshi with Eps IV through VI. Then, let him watch Gennedy's Clone Wars Cartoon and Episode III, which can totally stand on their own and doesn't need the other two pieces of shit films that preceded them or this piece of shit show which turns Anakin into the mannequin we all believed him to be. Then, after that, start him with the Thrawn Trilogy of books, and let his imagination grow in reading those books.<br><br>Because I guarantee you, not only will it foster a life-long love of reading in your son which is important for a parent to do, but it will allow his imagination to soar with Luke Skywalker and let him meet Mara Jade, the most important person in Luke's life... eventually.<br><br>This is the ONLY way to show Star Wars to people now.<br><br>Do the Original Trilogy. Then the far superior Clone Wars CARTOON. Then Ep. III. The start with the Thrawn books.<br><br>I concur with the poster in the beginning. Lucas, for all intents and purposes, died in 1982 when his wife left him. He died. Whatever wonder and innocence was in his heart left him forever because of what happened, and I don't judge him for it.<br><br>But I will not spend another dime on his films, or film properties that were made after Return. Except Clone Wars the CARTOON, Ep. III, and the books (not all of them are good, Death Star and Crystal Star are dreadful reads, steer away from them).<br><br>So good to go, Mori. Your stand is a breath of fresh air, and absolves you of loving the Love Guru.

Great reaction and decision, Mori. It's a brilliant idea actually. <BR><BR>And though AICN HAS changed over the years (and not all to the good), I do love this site more than I ever have right now. I'm not deluded enough to think this SW embargo will have any net effect on Lucas's financial empire, but it sure feels good. Thanks, Mori.

This kind of hyperbole and overinflated idea of the importance of 'Phan-dom', (not that it's totally unimportant mind you) is the reason Joe public think fans are dick-headed twats. I'm sure George does not give a shit about your review - no matter how much you'd like to think he does. You don't need him to notice you to feel validated dude, let it go, realise that you're way wrong about this.

I bought a copy of his Wooody allen biog. Which I found unreadable. I was tempted to buy his book on Deniro. but I havent. just one thing. Untill very Scorcese said that he refused to watch star wars and a couple of years he did and he said it blew his mind and it changed his position about computers in the film business and about sci-fi. Scorcese and lucas did not speak for a very long time. Scorcese blamed lucas and speilberg for killing the way Marty S. wanted to make movies. I will put in a caveat. Hollywood was moving in their direction anyway. In the 1970 came big budget disaster movies by Irwin Allen. Which became the blueprint for movies like jaws and die hard. What changed also was the way in which studios organised secret screenings. You didnt know what the hell you were going to see.

The thought of George Lucas scrolling through Internet web sites looking for people and websites to ban makes me laugh. With his coin, he obviously has minions taking care of his banning for him. The jury is still out on the possibility that Lucas even knows who McWeenie (McWeeny? McWeeney?) is, let alone cares enough to ban him. It's far more likely Moriarty's spirit has been crushed by a mid-level LucasFilm employee, not the boss himself.

He'll be writing about STAR WARS again inside of 6months. You think he'll be able to keep his mouth shut - er, his fingers off his keyboard (and by keyboard, I mean keyboard) - once either the animated series or the live action series starts?
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Puh-lease.

children. Even RR who is venerated on this site. did is exactly the same thing. He went one worse. He got his son to write Shark Boy and lava Girl. never ever make films for your children. Lucas's children are in the phantom menace.

Time to face reality people. If you really want to know who's responsible for the current state of the SW franchise, look in a freakin' mirror. Time and time again, Lucas took a giant shit on a piece of celluloid, rotoscoped a couple of lightsabers on it and then we all flocked like fucking lemmings to it. Afterwards, rather than calling him a lazy, no talent hack, we buy up enough of his fucking sweat-shop toys so the pudgy fucker would need a snorkel to swim through the lake of money that stretches from his bedroom to the shitter. I'm just as guilty as everyone else in this regard, but no more. After the vomit inducing prequel trilogies and the crapfest that was Indiana Jones & TKOCS, George Lucas will never again receive a single dime from me. It's painfully apparent that Lucas has expended what little talent he had a long time ago and completely loathes his fanbase. He doesn't give a shit about the quality of his work, because he knows we're so fucking stupid we'll keep paying him money so he can continue to piss on our heads. You don't owe this man anything: he made a movie, we paid him to go see it. We're square. Time to give the big FU to Lucas and move on!

I have been done with him ever since I saw the crapfest that is Episode I. I tried to believe the crap about how "Star Wars is for kids, so that's why it is like that" that bullshit. The movies just plain sucked. I like kid's movies as much as the next guy, and these movies just blew.
He also obviously threw his interest into Kingdom of the Crystal Crap with the WAY too much CG stuff. George needs to just shut up and retire, because he hasn't made anything worthwhile since the 80's. I have finally succumb to the fact that anything with George Lucas' name on it, that is definitely a movie I will not see.

... he's one guy here who suffers the courage of his convictions.<br><br>Well, one of two. Massa does, too, to great Fanboy consternation.<br><br>Look, even with Love Guru, the awful piece of shit it was, Mori had to know the backlash that was coming his way, but he suffered the slings and arrows anyway.<br><br>You can say this for the man, and I mean this in the most complimentary way: he's true to himself.<br><br>He's not a sell-out. He's not a plant. I may not trust his film reviews as I once did (Massa is the only person left on this site whose reviews I do trust), but at least I know, that when it comes to Mori, when he writes it comes from him. He's not being backed by corporate hacks trying to sell people on crap. He's not bowing down to advertising execs. He's true to himself.<br><br>He just can seem to review movie comedies. No one is perfect.<br><br>So believe what you want to believe, Dashing Roger, but I trust Moriarty.

Why else, would you post here. ;) Ok, bad example. But why would major studios invite reviewers like Harry, Quint and Co. to unofficial screenings, early tests, studiovisits, why would people like James Cameron talk with them about their upcoming projects, people like Stallone responding to the fans? Hell, where else can you read that much geekfriendly interviews as here? Of course, the site counts! Of course, the reviewers counts and damn sure we, as a community count (after all we are the one who buy the tickets, the DVD´s and the whole fucking merchandise)!!!

Why else, would you post here. ;) Ok, bad example. But why would major studios invite reviewers like Harry, Quint and Co. to unofficial screenings, early tests, studiovisits, why would people like James Cameron talk with them about their upcoming projects, people like Stallone responding to the fans? Hell, where else can you read that much geekfriendly interviews as here? Of course, the site counts! Of course, the reviewers counts and damn sure we, as a community count (after all we are the one who buy the tickets, the DVD´s and the whole fucking merchandise)!!!

As far as "forcing" goes, he sure did try his best to force the "Special Edition" versions of the movies down the collective world's throat. Yeah, so he shit out some non-anamorphic LD transfers to shut us up, but I wouldn't exactly call that an act of understanding towards us on his part.

...man, I love a good Braveheart. I'm completely serious. I've been living nose-less to spite my face for years now (although as I get a little older I worry that I'm starting to puss out sometimes). These things are mostly just symbolic of course...but who cares?.....nicely done! FREEEEEEEDOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!

All the drama that surrounds Star Wars is way more interesting than the movies, but that's not saying much. Lucas became the thing he was trying to avoid and his "art" paid the price. Give in to your hate, Moriarity. Let the dark side guide you in a quest to fuck Hollywood up its banal tight little ass.

"But as of right now, midnight in Los Angeles on August 15, 2008, I am done writing about STAR WARS. No more. No reviews. No retrospectives. No news. No coverage at all. Because embargoes can work the other way, too. If it pains Lucas on a professional and a personal and a corporate level that someone who was part of the generation that made him a billionaire has an opinion about his product, then I will spare him that pain from now on. Happily."
You and your fellow fat internet critics are such whiny cunts. This is as bad as when you told the Coen Brothers to stop making movies for awhile. The self-importance of you idiots is revolting.

This is a bummer of an article. How awful is it, though, that for the past ten years all George Lucas has done is disappoint (with maybe momentary exceptions (parts of EP III, the vid games...))? He can't get out of his own way, will not sit back and let his crew run with projects - micromanages his universe right into the ground. All he's doing is making bank on the goodwill of the original trilogy which speaks to how much that meant to all of us. But seeing things like what we have here in this article and hearing about how creatively stifling it is at his company, he has become the studio system that he originally rebelled against. And it's too bad he can't see that.

I would be great if all the other major net site would recognize the wrong done to AICN and unite under one flag to boycott any Lucas product. If George wants to crap on the people the who people (web journalists) who inform the population with the most disposable income (teen and early 20's), then lets see how well he does when no one knows what the hell he's doing.

I have as great an affection for Star Wars as any person who has ever lived. I really do. And when I read this review, I kept thinking "okay he's going to whine about the embargo and say he never loved Star Wars and that all of it was a waste of time". You kind of did say that when you were apologizing for spending any money on it, but I know where you are coming from- Lucas is so offended that you have anything to say, it seems like he wants nothing to do with you. Not even your money.<p>Look folks, think of Star Wars like a girlfriend you once had. Maybe your first love. It was a wonderful experience, something that can never be duplicated. But as time went on, things began to change. You stopped looking at her the same way, for whatever reason. Maybe she cheated on you, who knows. The bottom line is, you grew apart. That's Star Wars.<p>Did you love Star Wars? Yeah. DO you love Star Wars? You love what it was, just like you love the relationship you had. There is nothing wrong with honoring it as something significant in your life, even if it isn't what it used to be. As for me, Star Wars is still very much alive, though I approach new projects with less enthusiasm than I did before.

Mori, I've worked for IBM for three years now, and I can hazard a guess at how all this banned stuff happened (I just read your original post on the topic).
Yes, George probably said "all of them can come except Moriarty". The yes-men any corporate executive surrounds himself with predictably said "yes sir" and that was most likely the end of Lucas' involvement in the episode. Then along came Harry, presenting logical facts and arguments to the minions who are supposed to carry out the executives wishes, and making their job hard. What are they gonna do? Give him an answer, shut him up...we don't want this getting back to the top. okay, it's because Moriarty posted a review of the Ep 1 script...minion's job done. Harry says 'but wait! not accurate!' minion says 'go away...I handled this problem already...shut up' Notice George is not involved in any of this...This is the way things typically go down in a large company. I'm not making excuses for George, he knows the climate/culture of a large company. His decision to ban you was stupid...but he probably had nothing to do with the resulting storm. Anyway...I'm a SW fan with a similar background, and at this point...I'm right there with you with all your thoughts and feelings, dude...time to fondly closed the door on these memories, and move on with life...I'll check in from time to time on this galaxy far far away, but it's place in my current lifestyle has diminished dramatically...not that this means anything to Lucas. He's walked away from original fans, and now it's time for original fans to walk away as well. Stop the yelling...let the emotions subside...no one is left to argue with on the lucasfilms side. The entertainment worlds has moved on and so should the audience.

Or great big bits of Return of the Jedi? Or even some bits of Star Wars itself, "visionary" as the mix elements were first time round?
I certainly didn't think so.
Only Empire escapes with a healthy serving of dignity, surely? (With Episodes 3 and 4 getting small portions?)

<br>We've lost sight of something important here.</br>
<br>This is not serious business. This is storytelling. This is entertainment. Certainly its serious putting this together, but on our end, getting so serious if you're not an academic is seriously pointless.</br>
<br>People think that if they get all critical, if they insist at the top of their voice that an orthodoxy be maintained, that this will maintain the quality. A little bit of such standard keeping is okay, but it can become tiresome and counterproductive after a while. Whether it's adaptations that can never be perfectly managed, or the differing of a filmmaker's vision from our desired course or style, we get to the point where we're practically acting like the inquisition.</br>
<br>Let me be plain: it's just not fucking worth it. It's just a story, just a television show. It's not worth such stress, such grief, such strong emotion. And its only when we've stopped making impossible demands of those who make movies and write stories that we become the kind of audience that can be surprised, that can be played with rather than held back at arms length with a chair and bullwhip.</br>
<br>This is supposed to be fun. This is supposed to be what we do in our time off, to forget our worries and let go of our pains and sorrows. This is supposed to be cathartic and therapeutic, not some overblown obsession. I can understand loving movies and relentlessly following them, but I understand that at some point, if you don't pull back a little from what you love, you're going to crush all the life and the creativity out of it.</br>

Had your embargo story been titled 'WE JUST GOT FUCKED BY GEORGE LUCAS VIA WARNER BROS' you wouldn't have seen any of the backlash you did. Since you're effectively saying -just that- right now, I have no idea why you took the diplomatic route you did and just explained that you honor embargoes. Why not say 'we honor embargoes, even though this one is absolute bullshit from Lucas attempting to keep negativity about his shitty film off the Internet prior to release.'

This phrase was not produced by the people who hated the prequels. It was, in fact, an invention of the super fanboys who loved the prequels. The exchange would go something like this:
<p>
Fan: "Wow, the Phantom Menace was really awful."
<p>
Fanboy: "Shut up faggot!!1!1 Stop saying that Lucas raped your childhood! You must love it because it's Star Wars! Lucas can do no bad!"
<p>
Fan: "I didn't say that Lucas 'raped my childhood'. I just said that I didn't like the movie. It is deeply flawed from a continuity, plot, story, and acting perspective. And Jar jar is annoying".
<p>
Fanboy: "You are gay. Lucas didn't rape ur childhood! You know you'll see this a million times like me."
<p>
Fan: "I give up."

I was a huge fan of the original. But when was the last time you went back and watched any of the originals? Yeesh. I can't believe we all got worked up into such a lather over THAT crap. All of the subsequent films took the franchise downhill (Empire being the single exception).<br><br>However, at this point, like Star Trek, the whole thing is a worn-out parody of itself.<br>It was a neat idea at the time, but it worked in it's specific time and place. That era is passed. Time to move on to bigger and better things.

... surrounded by sycophants, banning, exiling, and filtering to maintain his safe cocoon of worshipful followers.<p>The alternative is to step out of the fortress, see reality, and be forced to accept that he peaked in 1977, and has not even come close since.<p>He would have to further accept that his actions and choices since then have tarnished even his very best moment. He will be remembered as the guy who had a GREAT Idea and then destroyed it inch by inch, year by year, until it became a sad, soul-less, art-less business enterprise.<p>Unless, of course, that was his plan from the beginning, and the soaring inspiration of '77 was just an accident. We are now driven to wonder....

Just a rant on Lucasfilm's managing of the recent embargo. Plus a little bit of pet peeve whining about the word 'rape.' I get it. You're fed up, and by all rights you should be. But as an AICN reader, I don't care. I don't care that you're quitting your SW writing, no matter how many links you provide to try and show me how tragic that is. You know what I wanted? A review of the film. You never even came close to that. I respect your opinion always, Mori. But sometimes I cannot stand your actual writing. This is one of those times.

I completely agree with everything you have said. (although I haven't seen Clone Wars, and don't plan to). But I am tired of the Lucas Machine, and utter nonsense that has been pouring out of Lucasfilm in the past ten years. And I don't think that I'll discuss it any more, except with friends.

Eisner destroyed Disney's reputation as the best creative-driven company on the planet, with all of the shit that he produced in order to turn a buck. Lucas is doing the same thing with Star Wars. I remember in the 90's, every Star Wars game I played on the PC, and how awesome it was just to hear the music playing! Now, hearing Star Wars music on a PC game is old and stale as hell. The prequels did not recapture the magic; rather, they destroyed the illusion of a rich and magical universe. Cartoon Network's Clone Wars showed a pulse, and it looks like this new movie has pulled the plug on that life support. Lucas just can't admit that his ideas about Star Wars are hopelessly trite and simplistic in this modern age.

All these insults hurled at one of the most iconic film makers of all time. This man accomplished more than any of you will do in a thousand lifetimes. The ironic thing is that most of these Talk Backers lambasting Lucas represent the majority of the people standing in line for tickets tonight to go see The Clone Wars.

he caved in and said he was going to watch whatever Lucas puts out anyway! Huh? how is that a threat? I mean, you realize, of course, that in consuming his product, HE WINS! Clearly he doesn't want you to write about Star Wars, he wants you to CONSUME it. So, for all the appearance of a magnificent shunning, you turn right around and do exactly what he wants you to do -- shut up and consume his product. Lame.

there is a lot of support for Moriarty. But there is way too much bitterness and a sense of mid-life crisis mood. In, the previous talkback, Moriarty was constantly defending himself and quite clearly feeling a lot of bitterness for some reason. This insight review shows why. But he needs to lighten up, he's getting a touch too sensitive. Thats my perception anyway. Maybe I'm wrong but that is the vibe given off. And I am not so sure, as a talkbacker, how I am supposed o feel that one of our main Star Wars host is not going to talk star wars with us anymore. Like what did we do? Hey maybe I am getting bitter too in my older age. But I do know that I did not enjoy reading this article.

And that means it's iconography is going to be around for a long time. If Lucas hadn't 'dumbed down' Dune and Joseph Campbell in the first place, Episode 4 would not have happened. He created a central myth of our time, equalled perhaps only by the Batman. And there's a point: look how horrible Batman was in 1998 compared to 2008. There's a whole galaxy of well-written stories, all ready to go, about Star Wars. And there will be lots more. I'm still waiting for an interactive 3d Aayla Secura adventure. But that's me!

... coin the 'George Lucas raped my childhood' thing? Seem to recall him writing an article for Neon magazine where that turn of phrase showed up. Could be way off though. The Clone Wars looks like a piece of shit custom designed for lonely pathetic cunts who are unable to move on/grow up/etcetera. Surely people would be too embarrassed to actually ask for tickets to see this. I pity anyone who utters the words 'One for The Clone Wars please' this weekend.

the industry is marginalizing itself because, unlike a democratic society there is only one academy... but now there is downslide as new medium of distribution and production fit into place. Old Hollywood and the blacklists are anachronism's that need to be destroyed.

...in the world(s) of STAR WARS Geekdom. Personally, I "gave up" on STAR WARS after AOTC. I'm very content with my fond memories of the original trilogy...but even now, they are not something I go out of my way to watch or revisit like so many other fans. With the exception of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, the other films seem rather tedious.<P>So, when it comes to the prequel trilogy, the feeling that I'm watching a poorly scripted/acted video game (a remarkably repetitive one at that) is so overwhelming that I still can't believe it's part of the same filmmaking universe.<P>I don't hold any personal animosity towards George Lucas. If he feels that he's still making the films he always wanted and the decisions that make him happy, more power to him. After all, he is probably the world's richest independent filmmaker. But I've watched this man turn two of the most treasured cinematic franchises into running gags. It's REALLY disappointing and frustrating.<P>And now that near-universal frustration seems to be reaching a fever pitch. George Lucas used to have the Midas Touch. I no longer feel that is the case. Not only is he stuck in a creative rut, but it looks like he's in a fan-PR free-fall as well.<P>It's bizarre. O don't believe there is another filmmaker out there with an albatross as heavy as the one carried by George Lucas.

He is brick by brick destroying his own creation, and it was his intention all along. He hates SW, and he HATES all of us. He blames all of it for the fact he has lived alone, sheltered, raising a small brood by himself in Fortress Lucas for over 20 years. Marcia left him...left him alone and adrift...and he blames that on the success of SW. He is an unhappy, lonely, and at this point psychologically unstable man...whose only remaining desire is too be free from the shackles of SW...and he knows the only way he can do this is to destroy the love people have for it. Mission Accomplished George.

I love Star Wars...even the prequels. I had my issues with the ewoks and the gungans but I am a very forgiving person.
<P>
This new animated series could have really been FANTASTIC. There have been some pretty amazing childrens shows such as Batman: The Animated Series, X-Men (90's), Samurai Jack, Dragon Ball Z...
<P>
This has the opportunity to further the Star Wars mythology while being wildly imaginative and entertaining.
<P>
It seems that with the Clone Wars movie, it has gotten off to a bad start. I hope that they find some sort of footing and make the TV show something better.

I was really pissed off about the Clone Wars review being pulled as I thought it showed a disconnect between AICN and its readers. Your contributions in the TB threads didn't help mind. I thought Embargogate sent out the message "we mustn't get thrown off the gravy train, we must keep George happy". Basically saying a big fuck you to the very ideas that launched this site - "the geeks must know!".
<p>
However - it now seems obvious that the embargo issue pissed you off massively. And you've totally won me back with this article. Particularly as I have spent time going through your past articles and wallowing in that pre-TPM buzz we all had about anything Star Wars related. Before the disappointments. Before JJ Binks. In many ways, your views mirror my own on the PT. And what Clone Wars represents for me is the final nail in the SW coffin.
<p>
I haven't seen it yet, and nor do I have any intention to. In fact, I could have happily ignored it entirely if it hadn't been released into theatres as an actual Star Wars "film". I'm not one of those who have wallowed in the Expanded Universe, even slightly, but if its a Star Wars film released in theatres then I'm interested. Or, at least, I was.
<p>
Because now the game is up. Everything I'm hearing about this shows how little respect Lucas has for the very thing he created. There is absolutely no reason to release this film into theatres other than to rip off fans out of their hard earned money. All so George can cash in on his legacy one more time. Well enoughs enough. Stinky the Hutt, Homo The Hutt, Padawan the Brat can all go fuck themselves. I'm no longer caring. Its too painful to have to sit through this shit any longer. This moment feels like the end of a marriage.
<p>
For a long time you suspected things were going wrong, things creeping in that made you forget why you fell in love in the first place. Now, finally and unalterbaly - the truth you have been trying to ignore has become clear. Star Wars is now irretrievably and incontrivertably shit. Its taken until now for me to admit that to myself and to the world. We'll still have the memories, and its always fun to look back over old photos from time to time - but you can't live in the past. It's time to move on. So I'm with you on this Mori, and I'm sure plenty of others are too. Star Wars is dead - long live the next great film franchise that will take its place.

Seems like a few months ago we were yelling "sellout" and claiming that all AICN writers had been bought and paid for. Now, it seems like the days of true fandom and geekdom. Now we just need more "unauthorized" script reviews.

One of the things I genuinely love about visiting this site (among many things) is Mori's passion in general, and in particular his mature, yet fundamentally fan-boy, reflections on all things Star Wars. Mori's voice often reflects my feelings as well, just phrased better. To know he will unequivocally never write on the topic again really saddens me. Who will speak for me? I'm the lonely, 38 year-old, hold-out Star Wars fan. Who weeps for me? No one. I try to get my kids enthused, but they just don't share my passion. They never experienced the wonder of happening on an issue of Starlog that maybe contained a tidbit of Star Wars news. They never fell asleep at night wondering what it would be like to fly an X-Wing, or musing on how powerful a Jedi could be with the Force. I think the Harry Potter phenomenon is about as close as they have come to the slavish passion of the Star Wars fan, but its still not the same. Granted, Star Wars product directly from George Lucas has been sub-par at best, when compared to the Holy OT movies, but there's still so much more to the thriving SW universe to entertain and, yes, inspire. The current spate of Legacy comics from Dark Horse and the upcoming Force Unleashed video game are but two examples. Genndy Tartakovsky's Clone Wars series was also pretty terrific. The point is, other folks, besides George Lucas, are playing in the SW playground and creating pretty fun materials. I'd like it if Mori occasionally wrote about some of those materials, especially the ones that inspire or delight him. Sadly, he has had it. I don't blame him, it just makes me sad.

"Everything worth a damn is either EU (which he despises, don't believe the hype) or created by BioWare/Obsidian."
Very true...KOTOR proved a SW game can be better written than any movie made by GL...which is why I'm wary of 'The Force Unleashed', made and written by Lucasarts (*shudder*)...

Put down the Merriam-Webster...we are talking Street Lingo here...
In the world of Film/Writing/journalism/music/etc...a "HACK" is someone who does things half assed..a mediocrity..and Lucas is definitely that.

Rob fucking Coleman is involved with this irrelevant 'Star Wars Babies' horseshit excuse for a tv show. He's directing some of the later episodes. Anytime I'm feeling blue I remember that at least I'm not Rob Fucking Coleman and this cheers me right up. And if he's working his 'magic' on this sorry money-making farce then you just know it's going to be ridiculously shit.

I want to help make sure the TDK is number 1 again, and hope that Lucas wakes the fuck up and realizes that people aren't going to simply shut up and buy whatever he excretes on them. And I really thought that you had learned your lesson, that you brought your A-game to ROTS, only to piss it away on this garbage? What a dick you are, fat neck. Oh, but I love that the Hutts reproduce asexually... sort of like Lucas himself! A bloated sexless blob.

While George certainly didn't physically abuse us, and herd us into the theaters/toy stores....he most certainly did through emotional manipulation ensure he got what he wanted. He supplied the lollypops and smoothly worded assurances..and thus being put at ease and completely fooled we gave consent.

..back out on the streets to rustle up a few dollars"...wow what a great, razor-sharp assessment and, at the same time, bleak and depressingly sad description of Lucas. A perfectly fitting analogy and I salute you, sir palimpsest!

The first person to be "Banned from the Ranch" was Frederick S. Clarke of Cinefantastique magazine. He'd let the cat out of the bag about Vader being Luke's father before "Empire" premiered. As a result, Lucasfilm stopped dealing with him, and Cinefantastique was unable to do big cover articles on Empire and Jedi. Oh, the magazine reviewed the films, but in-depth coverage, as had been done with "Star Wars," was non-existent. If Mori wants to stop covering the franchise, fine, there's really no damage done; he wasn't covering the genre like a magazine. But it does leave a big hole, like Cinefantastique's hole, for better or worse.

Check out CHUD.com and note that Devin Faraci wrote a column in his "Devin's Advocate" series earlier this week where he mocks the "Gay Ziro the Hutt" character, but also mentions having to hold off on his actual review until Friday. CHUD was embargoed just like AICN, and that is merely the beginning.

I'm still partial to Herc first and then probably Massawyrm second, but this is the best thing Mori has ever written and I am very impressed. He's the third best writer on the site. Kudos sir. Oh and MiraJeff is clearly and obviously the worst by far cause he sucks balls, and not in the good way. Go to hell MiraJeff.

All that you wrote here explains exactly how i feel. I started writing something of my own. But your "review" says it all. I could just sign it. For a guy who grew up on and lived starwars this is just so fucking sad. Fuck this.

In terms of overall movie quality, I stand by the above equation (i do hope I have the use of the arrow symbols correct. I'm not as hip as some of the other fellows who frequent this site and am simply copying something i've glimpsed before on these messageboards).

Yeah, it may be a little over-enthusiastic, but honestly, read the script for yourself... it reads far better than it plays. It reads pretty much like the OT scripts (except, of course, "Empire") but the execution (particularly acting, directing, and editing) in the finished film are all so shocking amateurish they make a mediocre script play like a travesty (at least at times). There are moments in TPM which are so terribly executed (the "what are midiclorians?" scene leaps to mind) they are literally jaw-dropping. Far worse than you'd see in any theatrically released film, even by some hack like Ratner or a true anti-artist like Dr. Boll. Why are they in there? Didn't anyone notice how bad they were? I mean, several scenes lack even the most basic tenants of professional filmmaking. <br>
Which is not to try and hate one the prequels, which I actually think are more good than bad (particularly by the time Sith roles around... those moments are vitually gone). This is just to say that a positive review of TPM script was reasonably justified. It could actually have been made into a pretty decent film had someone (and not just Lucas-- everyone, particularly his producer, probably deserve some blame, unless they did say something and were ignored) paid attention to any aspect of filmmaking other than the post-production. <br>
As for Lucasfilm's "war" on this site... yeah, I agree its a little silly to hold a grudge this long, and its hard not to see them as a bit of a bully since they hold all the power. Still, like Vincent Vega says... You play with fire, you get burned. Come on, you had to know they'd be pissed about those script reviews. Maybe not pissed almost ten years later, but still. On the other hand, I can def. understand Mori's gradual wearing down, as a huge corporation puts its full weight against squashing one little internet site. I think I'd give up after awhile too.

Stepping into talkback fights and playing mediator when no one needs it, making a halfassed stand against George Lucas. I'm sorry to say this, but it looks like your writing career outside of the site has changed you. Please retire, and let us remember you as you were; or at the very least go back to who you once were. There's good in you, I can sense it.

Enough Dark Knight! Yes, Clone Wars stinks. But if one more person fluffs that flick I think I'm gonna vomit. Jesus, it wasn't THAT great. I honestly liked Batman Begins a little more...there, I said it.

I like Star Wars, but I don't love it anymore. I don't even own it on DVD. From what I understand, there are two versions of the good SW movies out to buy - a version with cleaned up graphics and sound, but awful changes to the story/characters, and a version with the same story/characters, but no cleaned up graphics/sound. That made my decision of what to purchase very easy - neither one. There are a lot of great movies out there. Sorry, George.

and some "fans" will complain because it isnt what they wanted to see...the rest will sit back, relax and enjoy, get up and say NEXT!!!!
Star Wars is bigger than any 1 movie, book,comic or video game...you CAN'T ruin it, you can't stop it, all you can do is wait for the next chapter. No matter what the reviews this will still bring people to the theatre and new fans to Star Wars....

...Batman Begins was a perfectly good flick, but Dark Knight went Bourne Supremacy on us all by taking the torch and running with it. And the bonus, it didn't need another director to do it.
Paper or plastic vomit bag?

This article, and the entire talback, cracks me up. I like how moriarty's review was cloaked in level headed terms (lucas raped my childhood being a preposterous thing to say), but was really just such a self-absorbed, hyperbolic rant underneath it all. lucas lives in an ivory tower and is an extremely stubborn person, so i doubt he gives two fucks about what a gaggle of fanboys have to say (or ever did). you're just not that important. as far as i'm concerned, star wars rode off into the sunset with revenge of the sith, so the fact that an inconsequential cartoon, only really designed to promote an upcoming tv series, is provoking this furor is side-splittingly hilarious (or is it years of misplaced and futile rage?). i've no intention of seeing this anyway, and never did even before these 'reviews', because its just quasi-EU material which is, quite frankly, 90% dogshit. I implore you all to do the same, and save yourselves a massive hernia.

-was the premiere of the theatrical trailer. After watching in a theater with a packed audience there were no cheers. There were no boos. There were no applause. The Clone Wars was met with a thunderous, apathetic silence. And I hope that if you are a fan of SW that you will wait to see the film. Give it a week or a least til Monday before you go see it. Make Lucas sweat that his hype machine has failed. Fight the Power, Mori!

BLEAAHHH! Well, not really, as this means nothing to me...I only saw the 1st 2 Bourne films and I forget what they were called, the Bourne Supremacy or Identity or Confusion or Shaky-Cam Fighting or what...they were decent action / adventure yarns, I liked 'em, but shit, if you're gonna fluff make some sense. Hell, I can tell it's a bigger movie than Begins, I remember how much my ass hurt in that last drawn-out 10 minutes, but bigger doesn't always = better.

Since you brought it up - what the hell is up with the AICN search engine? Have y'all ever thought about improving it? That is without question the most annoying element of this site, and it seems as if it has been that way for YEARS. Innumerable times has an article fallen off the front page that I want to go back and read again or for which I want to keep an eye on the talkback, and the search engine - even with the most blatantly obvious keywords - is USELESS. I have never run into this problem with any other website that uses a search engine. So what gives?

I was just as upset about the prequels as everyone else, then I realized when looking at the OT, that, Lucas didn't even do EMPIRE or ROTJ.
Lawrence Kasdan wrote and directed EMPIRE, and wrote ROTJ, abd Richard Marquand (sp?) directed.
so really, I love the story and universe LUCAS created, but what I ended up loving most, was the tone , feel and dialogue of KASDANS script and direction.
Lucas made HIS films.

Why? Because, despite your proud declaration, you simultaneously declare that you will continue to pollute your child's mind with this pablum. That's what Lucas wanted. He wants the kids of the original Star Wars fans, and the fans themselves can go fuck themselves. Guess what, if you don't watch Star Wars cartoons, your kid won't care about them. He loves them because Daddy is watching them. Take a real stand and try and pick something better for him to watch, or better yet, research some kids books and READ to the little tyke. Or take him for a walk in a park, and instill in him a love of nature. Your kid is young enough that all it takes to make him stop obsessing on Star Wars is to point at something else. Do it. Make a real Stand. Ban crappy Star Wars cartoons from your house. Your kid isn't choosing Star Wars, it's You.

Now everyone's entitled to an opinion, but when people starts trying to negate lucas's influence on the OT by spewing out ill-researched bullshit, its kind of annoying. seriously, i think everyone must be responsible for the OT except GL according to some of you, from lawrence kasdan down to the lucasfilm janitor. the fact of the matter is lucas was heavily involved with empire and jedi - the late leigh brackett was only give a credit out of respect (her first draft was nothing like the finished film). lucas wrote several drafts of the script - with kasdan coming in to polish it up and improve the dialogue. he also co-wrote jedi with kasdan (not that that's a great script anyway). lucas was always the guy in the driving seat, shaping the tone and direction of the story. as for richard marquand - he was a mere puppet director doing the donkey work for jedi. lucas directed many of the scenes himself, off the record. in the rush to write off lucas, it would seem people forget that from about 1971 - 1983, this guy was actually pretty damn talented. whether he subsequently flushed all that down the crapper or not is irrelevant.

Lucas never really had a clear vision for Star Wars, as evidenced by the fact that Vader wasn't even Luke's pop until the 2nd draft of Empire. So the extreme lameness of Anakin's turn, among other plot points, while disappointing, really isn't that surprising in hindsight. He didn't know where he was going even with the ending already spelled out.

I don't have the benefit of knowing Lucas's actions or his reasons behind these actions, so I don't feel comfortable commenting on it, but I think you should keep reviewing his films out of respect for being a critic. I also don't know the timelines of the script reviews, but I'm assuming that they were released prior to the film coming out, and if I were a director of a movie, I would want the scripts to remain secret. Then again, the whole concept of Ain't It Cool exists on the notion that it's okay to spoil the movie as long as you tag your entries with a warning. I understand why people want to know the details of a really exciting movie prior to release, but spoilers really do spoil the experience of the movie. Again, I don't know everything behind this, and you've always been a very smart and reasonable person, Moriarty--I respect you, but I wonder if this could've been handled privately and fixed between you and Lucas. You both love movies, you both love wonder, and I have to think you both respect each other. /shrug

I sure can't. I used to watch Empire quite regularly prior to the prequels. The slap stick humor and making-it-up-as-he-goes plot development just grate a little too much. Lucas lucked out when he hired Ford, John Williams, and some talented visual and sound fx guys. Not to mention the writer and director who made Empire the only truly great Star Wars film.

..."Moriarty" acts like he's Martin Luther, nailing the 95 theses to the Wittenburg Church door...delusional fanboy martyrdom. Geez, what an ego you have. I'm supposed to believe that Lucas really gives a crap about any of this?
<p>Lucas is bat-guano crazy, and he HAS ruined this once proud franchise. Only the most stubborn of his non-reality based supporters will question that. All I had to see was the brief trailer of this fiasco to know that the rabbit hole to crapdom goes even deeper for Lucass.
<p>But really, all the teat-suckling-infant-like whining here is really pretty funny/sad. This stupid cartoon isn't even close to being worth the pomp and circumstance.

Wow, I've never been a fan of Moriarty before, and now I'm really, really not a fan. Since when has art been about winning or losing? This article and your feelings about Lucas and Star Wars are childish and ridiculous. Should I give up having an opinion about Batman, like you have about Star Wars, just because I don't prefer the direction the films have taken, or that there have been periods of years that the comic books have been awful? I realize you feel you've been treated a certain way by Lucas/LucasArts, but c'mon. Grow up and get a grip.

Episode I: stood in line for 8 hours jsut to buy tickets, then camped for 48 hours outside the theater for a decent seat. Walked way from the film very, very disappointed.
Episode II: Did not camp out, went to the first midnight show. Dug Yoda w/ a lightsaber, thought everything else was crap.
Episode III: Went to the first midnight show out of habit. Couldn't shake Jimmy Hendrix out of my head after the opening crawl. Thought the whole thing was major, major crap.
I'm done. I won't see this, won't watch the shows.
And Avatar: The Last Airbender is fucking awesome.

Just kidding, I generally like the PT, honest injun! I didn't care for Sith too much though because I felt the Star Wars ethos underwent a jarring tonal shift towards pedantic solemnity to appease the LOTR crowed who at the time were still empowered and basking in their alleged triumph. And Sith proved beyond the doubt's shadow that Lightsabers are only good in moderation; honest to god in every scene of that movie somebody is wielding a lightsaber and the badass factor of the weapon wears off by the halfway point.
No way in heck am I paying to see Clone Wars though judging by the no-holds-barred brutality directed towards it in the reviews. Maybe I'll duck into a showing of it for a few moments after seeing The Dark Knight for the fourth time just to get a general feel for how truly god-awful it is. I don't think it should be viewed as a surprise that this is more kid-placating than anything we've seen from the Star Wars factory though since it's a cartoon which by nature caters to an infantile mindset.

Are our wittle feelings hurt because you didn't get what you wanted? You idiots just need to stop. Stop buying into the Lucas machine and maybe those of us who enjoy what he's done can stop listening to the elitest assholes over here. You high and mighty fucknuts can suck a wookie cock. I love when you asses bitch about Lucas, but run out to buy everything and everything he puts out. It's hilarious what little spines you all have.

Seriously George Lucas sucks! Don't take it personally. Coming on here and whining isn't going to endear you to anyone. We all know that Lucas is a douche and he's raping both of his signature franchises to death (In that respect Stallone is the un-Lucas). So let him be the douchebag that he is. We all know that Clone Wars sucked, and hopefully no one will spend money to go and see it. So quit your whining and enjoy the collapse of a mighty empire, and I don't mean the Sith Empire!

I've said it before and I'll say it again-the ONLY thing wrong with Star Wars is Lucas. Hes a great idea man,but he has no talent for execution. He just needs to step down and give control of the universe to someone else...someone with talent who cares. And Mori...good article.

This shit is so fucking old and it’s really pathetic. Setting aside the fact that the prequels actually contained much more of a story than the original films, and bearing in mind that all three of the prequels have more positive reviews than negative, isn’t time all you little whiny bitches actually walked the walked and shut the fuck up? I read of all of this shit three years ago when Sith came out and according to you guys, SW was dead back then, yet you keep coming into these talkbacks and scream and shout about how Lucas fucked you over, blah, blah. If Lucas is so irrelevant, why the fuck are we even here? Personally, I loved the prequels but the bandwagon mob mentality that permeates the Internet regarding these movies robs them of any real fun because anything SW related gets these regurgitated, hateful responses. I’d love for the SW discussion to end because it’s not even a logical, reasonable discussion but rather the drone of a billion fanboy idiots who wanted their fan scripts made into a movies and are pissed that they weren’t. And why the hell are you guys treating this cartoon like it’s the next major installment in the franchise? It’s a pilot for a fucking cartoon. Here’s the truth: half of you motherfuckers will see this film in theaters and the other half will see it on TV. You’ll post about how much it sucks, how Lucas sucks, but you’ll keep watching regardless. You’ll also tune in for the live action show and do you know why? Because you’re all a bunch of spineless pussies who don’t have the balls to take a stance on anything. If you really hate Lucas that much, then you need to boycott all of his empire, not merely SW. That means if a film gets mixed by Skywalker Sound, you don’t see it. If ILM does the FX, you don’t buy the DVD. That means no Iron Man on Blueray and no copies of the original SW films or Indy flicks when they finally hit high def. If you want to vilify Lucas to this extent, have the testicles to take it the whole way because he’s getting your money through many other channels. Personally, I respect his contributions to the medium and I certainly don’t think this man has done anything that even remotely warrants this kind of venom. Seriously folks, get some perspective.

my eyes are tired but my fingers ache with urgency, so here goes.<p>
I think Lucas did an absolute classless thing in denying you access to the Ranch way back when. I think he's the kind of classless slug that doesn't deserve a piece of the money that I work VERY HARD to take home. I had to earn that money, and he certainly hasn't earned it from me. It is beyond petty what he did to you. It is beyond immature and beyond childish what he did to you. (for those who didn't read the links, Moriarty is banned from Skywalker Ranch, and in a moment of solidarity, Harry and 3 other long-time staffers refused invitations if he could not join them).<p>
Harry: You did a stand-up thing for your friend, and I think you showed measures of class that clearly George Lucas will never fully be able to comprehend, let alone ever hope to own himself. I knew about the story when it happened, but didn't know about the snow globe.<p>I have been a HUGE pimple on AICN's backside always having something to whine about or gripe about, or complain about. But I dont have anything today. All I can do is sit back in my chair, slack-jawed and say, "wow..." as a form of reaction.<p>
wow, Harry. Just wow. You sir, are a true mench. Your reviews stink real bad, and you seriously SERIOUSLY need to be on Queer Eye so they can shave you up and down and give you a good looking shirt or two. But beyond that, you are definately one of the Good Guys.<p>
For what it is worth, I own a Ranch in Missouri - I dont make science fiction movies there, and I dont rape childhoods there. I bale hay and try to grow some corn.<p>
You guys are welcome there anytime. I make the best cornbread you've ever had.<p>
PS: bring me a snow globe

At last some sense on this thread. Yes Lucas's SW spin-offs are crap, they have been ever since the Holiday Special. But the vilification of ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT FILM ARTISTS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY (in capitals so you can't miss it) is pathetic. The Clone Wars is SW for the kids, the live-action TV show is for you, the older fans. Lucas has hired three talented and respected Australian writers to help craft the live-action show. I hope the live-action show kicks ass so you all have to come back to Lucas on your hands and knees.

If the Lucas opinion of AICN is that 'it is dead to us' then why did you not simply break the embargo, and tell us WHY you are the only website on the internet to suffer this embargo? If they want to play dirty pool, then shed some light on it so the movie going fans who read this site can see what sort of petty people it is going to.<p>
If you're already Banned From The Ranch, then whats stopping you from posting the reviews and previews and script reviews and anything else you damn well feel like posting?

For the first time in my life,I wont be seeing a Star Wars film...ever. Not in the theatre,not on DVD,hell I wont even watch it on cable. Or the TV Series. I wont be buying Kingdom of the Crystal Skull-Fuck when it hits DVD. I already have the OT on DVD so that double-triple-dip money train is at an end(I dont care about Blue-Ray). Will I go see the trilogy again when its in 3D? Maybe,maybe not. Will I watch the live action series? Again,maybe mabye not. Used to be,anything SW got my money no questions asked. That day has passed. Now Star Wars(and Lucas) has to actually EARN my money by producing something of quality.

thats what Lucas wants. Thats the whole point of the embargo - no Star Wars news on AICN. I say they should still cover it, and every update about it should include a link and refresher to the kind of childishness that Lucas is capable of.

"The question many people have is will Jar Jar work as a character, or is he going to be lame comic relief, a gimmick that will be embarrassing in a decade. I am delighted to report that Jar Jar not only works, but that the Gungans are, as a whole, a welcome addition to the mythology of the STAR WARS universe."
How little we suspected then...

All these talkbackers are naive 13-year-olds. Lucas revolutionized the film industry and redefined popular culture. He's responsible for Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, Raiders of the Lost Ark, American Grafiti, THX-1138, all fucking classics that have withstood the slings and arrows of time. What have you guys done?

Heh. you're right. What he doesn't want will never happen though. NO MORE STAR WARS FANBASE. Don't see the movies, don't watch the TV shows, don't read the books, don't buy the games (no matter how badass they are). Well, I don't know how many will follow me, but I'm DONE with Star Wars forever. McDee I feel you buddy. I sat in line for 28 hours to buy tickets for Ep.1. Went to the premier dressed up like Darth Fucking Maul. Walked out feeling like an idiot. Saw Ep.2 3 days after it came out as I wasn't in too much of a hurry to be as disapointed as I was the first time around. 30 seconds of Yoda wailing ass was indeed the only thing I liked. Ep.3? Fuck it. I downloaded it illegally. Yes I know Downloading is bad but I was torn between not giving any more money to the series and wanting to see what EVERYTHING culminated to. HATED it. Ep.3 ruined one of if not THE best cinematic villain since Dracula. The only thing Star Wars that came out that was worth a shit since was the original Clone Wars cartoon. THAT felt like the OT. THAT had the spirit and "gee-whiz!!" factor the OT had. But even that is tainted. It doesn't matter how badass Mace Windu is in the cartoon because I know in RotS he goes out like a Bitch. Fuck Star Wars. Fuck Star Wars up its stupid ass FOREVER.

...but Mr. Lucas decides everything, I mean EVERYTHING must be within his control. NDA from Lucasfilm staff, crew and cast down to toy makers and third production assistants, CG animators and film processors, embargo and everything. Anything that escapes his control makes him berserk and he imposes banishment without a second thought. He never forgets. It pains him to know a traitor would betray him to deliver nuggets of hot news to the fan base regarding onset reports, script and secrets that might spoil everything long before release date. Everything must conform to his absolute control of intellectual properties, no matter how superficially creative or even flattering without a single utterance of character names in a completely spoiler free script review. Lucas despises, hates and rages at anyone who has told the world -- internet or fanzine or even a fucking purring pet kitten -- about what is up in Star Wars/Indy 4/Lucasfilm universe whenever the film is in production or even in development hell with tightly secretive and copyrighted script drafts.
<p>I'm beating a deaf horse here. The point is Mr. Lucas is likely a control freak, creatively speaking. He takes the protection of intellectual property extremely seriously as an independent entrepreneur who worked hard to create Star Wars from inception to release. It became a huge box office success, but that's not what made him extremely wealthy. Merchandising did. So creative control is all that matter the most.
<p>The famous SW anecdote is Lucas and his close pals kept the secret of father-son twist for Empire Strikes Back so air-tight even the actor playing Darth Vader (physical, not voice) was duped. The revelation was mind-blowing to the audiences on the first opening weekend, and they come streaming out of the theatres to spoil to people waiting in line (I'm sure this actually happened many, many times), family, friends, lovers and pets.
<p>NDA is a standard procedure in the creative arts industry, be it movies, tv, comic books, video games, even fucking Apple. Remember that idiot actor who spoiled Indy 4 details to a Middle America newspaper? I know how Mr. Spielberg feels. Hollywood hate spoilers that dilute the impact at the box office if the spoilers cannot be contained. Hence embargo. Word of mouth about movies being particularly rotten in advance is another matter. That's what made AICN with Batman & Robin test screening reports.
<p>Time is money, to use the cliched expression. Lucas wants total control so 1) he strive to satisfy the large fan base and general audience with slam-bang entertainment without needlessly spoiling them to bored shitlessness and 2) maximum enrichment in wealth. More $$$ for him if everything falls within place to his demand in totalitarian-style control. Lucas completely disregards the others' feeling of being rebuked, fired, banned when something goes awry hat incurs Lucas's wrath. Zero empathy for others' feeling. If you piss him off, you're out and banned from his mind. I'm positive there is a mandatory blacklist at Lucasfilm where even a fucking third-world landscaper is banned from the ranch for peeking at Lucas's vacant office with Mac computer running screensaver and a blank legal notepad for more than two seconds. on the desk for a second. We must protect our work with fanatical devotion because it's the source of desperately needed income (even for Lucas who is as comfortable as Uncle fuckin' Stooge on the top of the pile of gold coins) and we also hate surprise-crushing and entertainment-delated spoilers.
<p>George Lucas is a great control freak. So are every film director and producer in the industry. Even James Cameron, who doesn't like it when Tom Arnold babble about True Lies 2 plot outline on talk shows, if I'm not mistaken. Jim chooses his words carefully when composing emails to Harry regarding Avatar and neat 3D technology he innovated. Every creative person to impose a NDA on oneself to have self-respect and to make as much money as possible while providing the best entertainment out there without ruinous audience-displeasing spoilers revealed by fan web sites and magazines inconsiderate of the directors' feeling to keep everything in control until the release (besides publicity).
<p>I understand George Lucas' rationale, that's the way it is in film business. He's a ferociously independent film producer living the life as a ludicrously rich jerk.

I HATED Titanic! Some good action sequences aside, it was a steaming piece of shit. The reason it made so much money is because of teenage girls. Every teenage girl in the world who had access to a theatre saw that movie no less than 2 or 3 times a week for several months. How the hell it was even nominated for anything other than efx I have no friggin' idea.

Mori is really pissed off as a fan and a critic who's been banned by a former major filmmaker who gave up on trying something new after RADIOLAND MURDERS!
Mori is petulant and articulate, petty and thoughtful, whiny and
profound.
Embargos suck, but AICN has to follow them because they won't get into screenings, interviews, etc.
Don't worry, folks. Somebody at AICN will review all STAR WARS-related crap. And nobody likes being banned, so cut Mori some slack.

Titanic was a) an amazing script and b) an amazing piece of filmmaking. IMO the dialogue was atrocious as Cameron is a genre filmmaker and not cut out for turn of the century period drama dialogue. But in terms of filmmaking skill and know-how Titanic is pretty fucking amazing.

You state that the script was amazing, but the dialogue was atrocious. Was the dialogue a seperate entity from the script?? Yes, Cameron's attention to detail was excellent, but his characters (Billy Zane would've been twirling his mustache if he had one) were two dimensional at best.

...if you want a good SW fix without all the bollocks and the Lucas stupidity/inanity...read the books in the Expanded Universe (EU). Start with Timothy Zahn then maybe Kevin J. Anderson or even Michael Stackpole. If you want to read what should be episodes 7-9, read Zahn's Dark Force Rising trilogy. If you want a totally kick ass look on the real Hutt crime organization as well as the Bounty Hunter guild, read the Bounty Hunter Wars trilogy from Jeter. Like Jedi? Read the Jedi Academy trilogy by Anderson.<p>All excellent books with all of your favorite characters and some new ones as well! There's lots of great work out there and this is likely a fact and not opinion considering Lucas has basically disowned the EU completely (he doesn't consider it canon whatsoever, etc).

yeah im talking to you, Sithdan. First you tell us that Star Wars has defeated all of Time's "slings and arrows" and when you're reminded that Titanic uses some pretty big arrows to defeat it, your response is "Titanic is an overated POS"<p>
well guess what, smart-guy. Your stupid space opera got its pants yanked down in front of the whole class by that "overated POS"<p>
what say you now, dumb-dumb?

You said yourself this cartoon and the embargo business wasn't worth all the fuss, and then you deliver this self-righteous rant. You, Harry, this site in general, through some incessant need to get the scoop out early on every bit of films news have only perpetuated this guarded behavior by all the major studios. You're bullies in your own right.

No I kid. I understand what Goldman is saying. Structurally, the script, bookcased by the present expedition, is very well thought out. But again, if the dialogue and characters that have to make up 50 percent of the content of the script are dribble, than you do not have an amazing script. Its not for nothing that the most powerful scenes in the film have little or absolutely no dialogue.

I use to think that I liked this site for the incredible amount of information handed out and 1/2 way decent reviews. Some of the talkbacks were even inciteful. I actually decided to post a few months ago about Indy 4 (expressing that I liked it) and get slammed as a plant. It's about as bad as this whole rant about a conspiracy... I'm glad you have your opinion regarding Star Wars (and I'm also sick of this "raping my childhood" theme) but I think the blame is misplaced. I love movies which is what attracted me to this site way back at the beginning. I guess I could rant about how this site has lost track of the goals and services it provided way back then... but that's a bit too much like the "rapist" people. I just came back from my viewing of The Clone Wars. It is not perfect (far from it) but, like Indy 4, it was at least somewhat entertaining. The problem isn't that Lucas or anyone else has changed. We've changed. Look at this site from 10 years ago to today. I remember the talkbackers being a lot more intelligent in their discussions (or maybe it was just how I remember it and it never was this way). Today - it is different and not in a good way. I know I've changed in 10 years, this site has, and the whole world has changed as well. To place blame on one individual is silly... this is life. I respected your comment about moving on but to see your replies means that you haven't let it go completely...

Well, watchable. And enjoyable. You should see if you can get a dl of it. Great article, I think the Summer of '08 officially ended w/ Mummy 3, and the SW fanbase has been sorely cripple by Theatrical Clone Wars.

I can navigate away from sites like this but now the NY Daily News has a whiny "please George, stop ruining Star Wars" review. Jesus Christ it's not the fucking Sistine Chapel. I love/like/tolerate/loathe Star Wars in its myriad forms. Why is that so hard (or impossible) for some of you people? Just ... chill.<p>To think - and be upset that - a theatrical release of a fucking TV cartoon is ruining a popcorn movie from 1977 is insane.<p>And the kicker, as always, is that Return of the Jedi is included as something that's being tainted. Even if the first two WERE the Sistine Chapel, that one sure as fuck aint. Time to get a grip, people. You're ruining Star Wars more than Lucas.

As I said above,Lucas is a great IDEA man. But I love Star Wars for Harrison Ford. I love Star Wars for Irvin Kirshner. I love Star Wars for Ben Burt and ILM and Lawrence Kasdan. I fucking LOVE Star Wars for John Williams. Yes,Lucas came up with the universe and yes hes the one who hired all these talented people because thats what he does best. Star Wars starts to suck when Lucas insists on writing and directing and doing whatever the hell he wants despite the advice of the talented people he surrounds himself with. Gungans and midichlorians and gay Capote Hutts? Thats all Lucas at his creative best. And it sucks.

Actually, this term may be used quite a bit, and perhaps people are sick of hearing it. But the thing is, the term is quite poetic and truthful. It is very appropriate actually. It is not unlike as if a parent gave you the wonderful and beautiful gift of life- something that you can't help but love, and then several years later that same parent comes after you and (insert expletive here) into your mouth every night for a year. Suddenly you don't love that precious gift anymore- the very person who gave the gift to you acted sort of like an indian giver and turns around and ruins the gift.
This is exactly what George Lucas did to me. He gave me something that helped define a huge part of why I loved my childhood so much. True enough Moriarty, nobody forced me to see the prequals, but like an idiot I did see them, and for that I am eternally sorry. Forgive me Moriarty. But the result is that I simply do not love Star Wars the way I did before. It has been covered in semen. How can I love something that is so tainted and disgusting? George Lucas did this, and there are a ton of people who feel this way. We do not need to answer for the mistake we made to go see "The Phantom Menace", I had no idea what was about to happen to me as I walked into that cold and dark theater. Perhaps I should have paid more attention to the stench, and listened more closely to George Lucas's heavy breathing. If I had known, I gaurantee I would have avoided it. And like a rape victom who has no more self respect for herself anymore, I stumbled like a used whore into the movie theater two more times for "Attack of the Clones" and "Revenge of the Sith". The damage had been done with my first rape session- I no longer had my youthful innocense anymore. My (expletive here) was red and sore now, and my stupid brain told me that I wanted more of George Lucas's (expletive here) back in my (expletive here), just like a used whore with no more self respect.
The fact is that my childhood was forged largely by the magic which was Star Wars. Now, I don't respect Star Wars, so what does that do to my childhood? Well it taints it somewhat, as if it had been raped.
My childhood is now George Lucas's filthy slut with bruises all over her face. But Enough time has passed since that last raping at Revenge of the Sith, and my childhood as regained some self respect. No more (expletives here), I will not go see The Clone Wars. Something tells me George Lucas took an extra dose of Viagra for this one.

It's very interesting that AICN feels it can censor its talkbackers on what they can post, yet moans when they are in turn censored. So after this irony Moriaty comes out and moans about being censored. Pot, kettle, black.

A great review of the past decade of my life as well since I spent many night shifts in a call center reading AICN's reviews about the latest developments of the Star Wars prequels and other projects I am interested in. Without explicitly reviewing George's new movie (or product, which is exactly what it is - a product of an "entertainment" conglomerate that farms animation out to studies in other countries now) you have given a very powerful condemnation of Lucas's tactics to silence people who shouldn't have to sycophantically lap up everything he does in order to be allowed to express themselves. Star Wars is no longer a labor of love, or a passion of a young artist, but is merely a shiny product that is manufactured and processed in cubicle farms and subsequently reviewed in marketing meetings in conference rooms of a billion dollar business. I believed in the artist that George Lucas once was, but I am not a believer in the business man. I am not the least bit interested in the CGI movie or its soon to be aired TV series. My children, 10 and 14 both agreed without my input that "Dad, it looks kinda lame." Which saddens me because, growing up, their was no better standard for visionary fantasy filmmaking than Star Wars and Empire. George Lucas will only pay attention when the ratings drop on his series and when his beloved franchise stops being the reliable money machine it used to be.

...by giving him the silent treatment? And in so doing, he becomes even more a caricature of the bitter, disillusioned late 30's fanboi who can't accept the imminent approach of middle age. I wonder how many nights of sleep Lucas will lose worrying about Moriarty of AICN boycotting all things Star Wars? Get the fuck over yourself McWeeny.

Totally with you on AOTC, by far the best prequel - the last half hour is the business. And THX is an astonishing movie. All the pricks in this thread saying Lucas knows nothing about filmmaking should listen to his commentary on the DVD and revise their opinions.

I think that this movie has officially deflated my love... or caring, for the future of the saga. It is everything I feared it would be... and then much worse. I just hope the live action show isn't anywhere near this bullshit movie.

As mentioned in another talkback, I won't pay to see Clone Wars (probably won't even bother to download it). Furthermore, I haven't seen Indy 4 yet. After Moriarty's very poignant requiem for a Star Wars dream, I definitely won't bother with Indy either. I just can't bring myself to care. THINK OF IT THIS WAY: So far 2008 has given us a whole bunch of good (not great, but still good) genre movies like Incredible Hulk, X-Files 2, Speed Racer and Get Smart. It's given us REALLY good genre movies like Iron Man. And it's given us the new gold-press latinum standard for great genre movies with The Dark Knight. How truly depressing then that the two BOTTOM OF THE SHIT-PILE LOW POINTS have come from the two Holy-Fucking-SAINTED-Godfathers of genre filmmaking, Lucas and Spielberg!!!!! They don't matter anymore. They should quit. Now. Lucas can go back to being a corporate CEO full-time and Spielberg can go and actually put a little time in at the office over at Dreamworks SKG. There is no need for them to bother pretending to care about filmmaking anymore. McG, JJ Abrams, the Nolan Brothers, and Daniel Craig's crew are the true litmus test to see if the next generation has truly, finally, TAKEN BY FORCE the torch from the Holy Gurus. My hopes and prayers are now firmly attached to the dream of rejuvenated, kickass Terminator, Star Trek, DC/Marvel, and James Bond franchises. We'll see...

Aug. 15, 2008, 5:33 p.m. CST

by Son of the Suns

I think people are getting overly wound up over what's a pilot for a TV series ON KIDS TV, that they happen to be premiering in the cinema. It's not exactly been hyped like the prequals, yet everyone's getting high and mighty about it.

really dude, this right here is an angry fan, disappointed with a man that hurt him only because he was too real and honest with that man's work.
I know Lucas probably won't read your post but if he does i'm betting something inside 'Grey Beard' will kick his brain.
that embargo was the most stupid thing LucasFilms has ever done (yes that includes Jar Jar Binks)

What a well constructed piece of popular entertainment. As a matter of fact, that and Star Wars were responses to the box office failure of THX.<p>It's important to remember the time frame when those films came out. In the early to mid '70s the country was in the midst of the wind down of the Vietnam War segueing into Watergate. Lucas wanted to create entertainment that would be uplifting, not downbeat. In simple good and bad terms. And the public responded.<p> I always felt that Star Wars was more in the realm of fantasy than science fiction, anyway.

Le Vicious, you didn't look very hard.
Here's one of many examples of another site talking about being embargoed from reviewing Clone Wars:
http://tiny.cc/pDKQ6
Didn't you notice that there were only a couple of reviews on Rotten Tomatoes up until Thursday? Why do you think that was?
Everyone was embargoed, except for a select few sites which the studios favor because they are owned by the same corporation or because they are friends with them... or whatever. Normally, AICN is one of those sites. This time they weren't.

With you on all your points. Jedi is disappointing apart from the final space battle and the final confrontation with The Emperor. The whole second Death Star storyline is lame and unimaginative. The opera scene in Sith is magnificent, McDiarmid's evil grin when he talks of murdering his master. And are you referring to the scene in Sith where Anakin is in the Jedi Council on his own and it intercuts with Padme in her apartment, as if they are both looking at each other? That scene is genius, and the work of a man who really understands cinema and editing. And finally AOTC is a great adventure movie and a brilliantly edited movie too. It looks superb compared to the geographically confusing and badly cut action sequences of today. Bravo sir!

loserguy3000 - Couldn't agree with you more. In fact, this is my final post as I am now boycotting AICN.<p>To others - Yes, I know, I won't be missed. I'll be sobbing in my bed for days on end. Really, this has been a blast. I'll leave with a nice healthy gut laugh, dumbfounded by the outrageous huff over a review embargo on a fucking cartoon. It's really too much to bear. Oh, such injustice! Oh, woe is humanity!<p>Memories-of-Murder - I loved AOTC too. And I recall pretty much everyone in the theater opening night going bugnuts about it, one thrilling action sequence after another, but they'll never admit to it here. There was a single shot in that film that just blew me away, unlike anything I've seen on film before. Just a little sweeping right-to-left shot from behind Slave I as it chased Obi-Wan through the rings of Geonosis. Pure cinematic bliss.<p>To anyone else - That's all Lucas has ever been about to me - those moments of cinematic bliss. I could give a shit about the acting or dialogue in any SW movie, it's not what makes them work, never was. Lucas began not with this epic story in mind. Star Wars sprouted from these visions in his head of starships dogfighting each other in outer space - he only needed some story to thread those visions together. But he hated writing, so he chose a simple story (not simple-minded), the one that's been told since the dawn of the oral tradition, the same story that is always told. His concern in film was not literary (though what he achieved ended up being literary, bad dialogue and all), it was with delivering a unique cinematic experience, and developing the tools to deliver those experiences - not just for his own visions, but for generations of filmmakers to come. If you put Star Wars up on a pedastal, or worship it as something sacred, that's on you. To demand anymore from Lucas than what he's accomplished is to soak in your own egocentric sense of nostalgia. Enjoy your perpetual disappointment at it all. I'm skipping Clone Wars and going to the bar. After all, I'm not really into cartoons anymore.

I tried connecting, irc, but couldn't
not sure if that was on your end or mine (zonealarm likes to update itself, tinyurl is always getting blocked...)
Anyway I can't get into irc.<p>
Man, don't delete everything, just what you find offensive.<p>
And g'me my nic back

I gotta admit I enjoyed Willow for Val Kilmer's performance and the fact that Warwick Davis played such a main role.<p>Thought Apollo 13 was a well constructed story about the ingenuity of men in time of crisis. The geek scientists were the heroes!<p>And he gave us a lovely Daryl Hannah, and John Candy in one of the best "big brother" roles ever.<p>So I'll take the good with the bad.

Had a few stray minutes this morning. Everything I pulled up indicated that those holding on to their reviews were doing so, ultimately, because they heard about it second hand from AICN. Looks like I was mistaken.

but i must admit, i liked what you mentioned that you will keep your opinions about starwars to your friends and close ones. i mean... i understand sometimes there are things you want to tell the whole world about and make them understand how much you love something. but with starwars... for me its something that only your loved ones truly understand when you tell them and see in your eyes how much you mean it. my girlfriend doesnt like starwars at all but when i tell her about it. she can see how much i love it. So she gave it another chance, she still doesnt like it so much, but she loves seeing me so excited. And i am looking forward to the day that my son can see the films as well, to share the experience. So with this one... leave it alone on here, but keep sharing it with your family man.

Totally understand you. It is indeed cool to find some like-minded Wars opinion, especially amongst all this Lucas raped my childhood crap. The prequels had problems sure but I still enjoy them. I just wish there was some way to transport the films back 25 years in time and show them to my 9 year old younger self, unshackled of his 34 year old jaded counterpart. I've a feeling he'd completely love them (especially if Lucas replaced Jar Jar's voice with a cool Nien Nunb-style alien language and subtitles).

You guys all wine about how George Lucas is ruining Star Wars and how him and Spielberg should just quit making movies and you sound completely ridiculous.
<P>
Lucas was at one point, a brilliant filmmaker. I am eternally greatful to him for creating a series of films which I grew up with and love very much. They had their ups and downs but I enjoyed the prequels immensly. I will admit that as a now brilliant business man, Lucas needs to hire the right talent to take the reigns on the series so that it can continue to prosper.
<P>
The last Indiana Jones movie was fun and entertaining. What more could I ask for? It's not going to be the same Indiana Jones as it was before...for that you have to travel back in time to 1980. For what it was, I found it enjoyable and much better than the Tomb Raiders or any of these silly Mummy movies.
<P>
Spielberg is in top form! He can still put out the special effect goodies [War of the Worlds, Minority Report] as well as the more serios fair [Munich, Catch Me If You Can].
<P>
All in all, I grew up influenced by the work of The Beards...I hope they continue to thrive in the future.

Know that your purpose in life is not in any way shape or form related to creating art, but creating money, and nothing but. Do not ever get confused that your life is involved with the former just because you belong to a corporation related to film. Do not ignore this thought hidden in the back of your head. Be secure in that knowledge.

Oh this is bad, this is awful. <p>
This screaming queen reaction to a perceived slight that YOU, Mori, created in your own head....it's fucking ugly. <p>
You are in the wrong pal. If you got AICN in shit by spoiling PM by reviewing a leaked script then you were 100% wrong, and must accept the consequences of those actions - embargoes and all. <p>
For you now to act like such a miserable little whiny brat about it speaks volumes as to what a precious little Hollywood phony you're becoming. This little dirge has got to rank alongside that 'Leave Britney Alone!!' douchebag for the most sickeningly self-obsessed, self-pitying, self-delusional rant I've ever witnessed. <p>
You took an obsession with a ropey, though entertaining, sci-fi kids movie and created a deep-set superiority complex. Lucas is out to get YOU? You alone? That is laughable, particularly as if true, you created the situation yourself. <p>
I hope your self respect and credibility are worth the empty sense of smugness you no doubt feel now - "Take THAT, George!!" - what a pity you then went back on your word by talking about Star Wars in the TB, kind of makes you less smug, and more of an idiot doesn't it? <p>
As for this cartoon, who cares? Old school Star Wars fans were never going to like it because they're older now and this kind of movie is above their age group. The old Star Wars suffered from many of the flaws used to slate the prequels, but they're given free pases because of the nostalgia factor. You don't like the new films because you're not kids anymore - the same old tricks won't work on you now like they did then.

... anyone keep telling me "no one really means the whole rape thing" after reading this talkback? Over and over, people keep equating a series of films they didn't like with actual rape. Not ironically. Not in a clever way. Some of you may think the phrase is an ironic joke, but I guarantee you that there's a huge percentage of these message board SW freaks who actually think that Lucas in some way raped them.

survive on nostalgia. Those who saw them as kids way back when will simply not accept any criticism of their beloved movies. <p>
The fact that the prequels are basically the same eludes them, more to the point, it's hidden by the fact that the ropy scripts and acting are not hidden by 30 years of nostalgia. <p>
No-one will ever tell me that The Goonies is shit, or embarrassing or cringe-worthy, it was THE movie of my young life. If I watched it completely fresh, right now, I'd probably hate the thing with a passion because my tastes have changed over the years. <p>
If Star Wars were just being released now, it would be slated and ridiculed and given shitty reviews. People hate the new movies because they've grown out of them, plain and simple. This Clone Wars cartoon is the extreme end of the kiddie scale. Any adult that was looking forward to this deserves the dissapointment they received, it will never be able to scale the heights your memories of Star Wars have created.

I just had to pop in and say wow.
That was a great, well written shot at Lucas.
Not once were you defamatory or insulting, just honest.
I'm a long time fan of the original movies and have also been saddened by what they've become.

Though Lucas is an abuser. And as an early Talkbacker said, a pimp - a greedy pimp forcing his tired characters back into their fishnets and out into the streets to turn tricks yet again. Sure, you can argue it's his material to do with as he pleases, and you'd be right. Thankfully it's within our power to stop funneling money into his depthless pockets.

You know, in the 10 years or so I've been a member of this site, I have commented only about...I dunno...15 or 20 times. Because I can never remember my password and I always have to go look it up. Anyhoo, had to look it up tonight. I've avoided reviews of this thing because I have no, no, no intention of ever seeing anything Star Wars related again. Born in 68, saw the original when I was 9, skipped high school to see Return, and I have to tell you that all three of the prequels are as terrible as anything Ed Wood ever made. Seriously. They look beautiful, but they are three of the worst movies ever made in terms of scripting, acting, direction, and coherence. Just incredibly inept storyteling and film making. So to me the franchise died with Return. Glad to see the internet community coming around and turning its back on this entire snoozefest. And Lucas even managed to screw up that last Indiana Jones flick. That ending...there are several skulls and the skulls spin and become one and then the one skull comes to life and then its causes Cate's head to explode...WTF?????????
Lucas is making it up as he goes along. Time to move on...NOTHING to see here.

Give me a break. Not even in a symbolic way. You spend too much time at AICN where every second post is absurdly negative or disgusting just to get a reaction. Have an actual discussion with someone anyone else on the net and nobody really takes that phrase seriously.

It was pretty much always the idea to have a shitload of Star Wars movies ... things changed along the way (divorce, kids, etc) but Lucas obviously is still looking at the SW universe as a place with a lot of stories to tell. That's nothing new.<p> Whether they're worth telling is another matter, but if you've read about this stuff, you'll see the original trilogy wasn't supposed to be the end of it in the first place.

anybody here read today that harry potter has been pushed back to july 7 from november?
interestingly enough it was scheduled to premiere in london this november for the queen and aparently might still. think about, a one-off showing for a chosen few while the rest have to wait eight more months. and all because he's in a play about horse rape, or something like that.

Sorry but it had to be said. You are sick fucks if you think being violently raped while being so scared you think you are going to die is like...being dissapointed at a movie. And you wonder why AICN treats you like shit and why no-one in the movie industry gives a flying fridge fuck what the average abusive internet kid says? Prime example there guys, way to get your point across. Comparing movies to rape ffs. And Mori you are lying through your teeth. This embargo had nothing to do with you and you know it. You were simply trying to win back the hearts of some of the simpletons who frequent these boards and yeah well done...you got them. You got them back but you didn't fool anyone else, in fact you made yourself look worse to the people you should be making amends to. You won the hearts and minds of the guys who go "Yeah Mori, you don't review Lucas's shit no more, we love you...he raped our childhood man!" are not really the type of guys you envisioned hanging around with when you joined AICN now was it?

We were helpless...Lucas lured us with promises of beauty, fun and a stories sweeter than a Pocket full of Tootsie pops......he bemused and bewitched us...and when we were not looking, feeling safe and secure and at ease...his massive chinned heft was upon us...his large clammy hands reaching into the deepest, most secret places of our wallets...and in one deft, swift move he ripped the innocence from us..the last shred of childlike wonder torn apart by bad writing, horrid acting, overdone CGI and the weight of his marketing onslaught...
Yes....it was the last vestiges of our childhoods raped...how DARE you suggest otherwise.:P

I think this new product is just Lucas keeping the merchandising engine going for a new generation of fans. If he's declined as a story teller over the past thirty years, well, it probably happens to everyone creative. People grew up with it and latched on to it, and I can understand the personal let down when something you really like declines or dissapoints and mori is taking the hits professionally so he has more right to be angry, but is there a coincidence that a new kids version of star wars comes out the same time as a 200 dollar falcon toy. GL wants you to take your kids who will then ask for the 200 dollar toy or you'll want it yourself. Either way, star wars has always been at least half about merchandising sales which lucas always had a take in. Who knows maybe in twenty years someone will reboot it like JJ Abrams and star trek.

Just got back. Space battles looked decent, as I suspected, but jesus character designs looked like SHIT. Not to mention the entire story of film. who gives a shit about Jabba's son. Both the Galactic Republic and the CIS could steam roll through any of Jabba's territory without a fucking problem.

I guess I'm banned from the ranch too, because I have not been invited once since 1999 either. What a ripoff! And after I saw all six of the movies in the theater ONCE. It's like Lucas doesn't appreciate me as a fan.

Unlike any other TV or Movie, Star Wars can't be remade unless Lucas or someone he designates after he dies allows it. Lucas owns the rights to Star Wars. He's unique. There isn't a single person like him in the whole of Hollywood.
Lucas has done a lot more than make SW, Indy and Howard The Duck but rather than look these things up, reasearch them and see how much this guy has done for the industry TB's would rather just blame him for raping their childhood coz that's what's on AICN.

Taking a hell of a stand, much respect to you for it. The thing about the whole 'raped my childhood' I think is just more of a total and utter violation of all that is held holy and pure, turning it into something that is vile and disgusting and totally ruining something. When you think of that kind of violation, rape is what comes up. For me it was BayFormers, a taking of something that was holy and pure about the archetypes of good and evil and real characters of all kinds in between and turning them into mere shells meant to make big explosions. I know, that was off topic, but for this people had a pure and holy love of Star Wars and that massive infinite universe that could only expand and be cooler, the infinite power of the force and what a Jedi could do and the intricacies of the characters (Hutt's reproducing asexually, that actually is a cool concept!) that make up this amazing universe and here it's just completely shelled into a kid's boom flick, with cheapened everything to wash is down, and you're left with an empty feeling of "is this all there is left?" Pure and utter letdown. And then Lucas' attitude to compound it. Maybe it's not rape, but it sure is a sullying of everything that was once cool and even just potentially cool. ...or maybe that's just the cold medicine rambling.

" If it pains Lucas on a professional and a personal and a corporate level that someone who was part of the generation that made him a billionaire has an opinion about his product, then I will spare him that pain from now on" Awww Lucas you got owned! And I love it :)

First of all you applaud Mori for taking a stand when the embrago had nothing to do with Mori or AICN. Many other websites had the same embargo yet none posted a whiney child like rant about being punished for a bad review. Second, comparing a dissapointing move to being raped is an abomination and shows a complete disregard for women and men who go through actual rape. I wish you guys would steer clear from comparing movies to rapes...it's disgusting and shows yet again why Hollywood does not take the interenet community seriously.

You actually think Lucas got owned by a sentance written by Mori? You really think Mori wouldn't dump you and all AICN TB's if Lucas 'forgave him' (as if he would actually personally ban Mori..c'mon get real) and let him in the ranch? You do? And you do too? LOLOLOL!

I had to repost this here, because it holds more weight, with what you said M.
I read the starwars books quite frequently, and have to say, why would George lucas continue to rehash his crappy second trilogy story line, when there are so many great books done by great authors. Shadows of the Empire by Steve Perry, would have made a great cartoon. Or the Nights of the old republic comic series, set three thousand years before starwars, where brother has to kill brother and there is plenty of darkness and death with cool characters. It is as if George is trying to say to the people that hated the newer trilogy, that "hey maybe you didn't like it because you didn't get it." Well fuck you george we got it! We got it so much that we hated ourselves for standing in line at midnight, waiting to see something that used to fill our minds with wonder. The newer trilogy, which was an overty timely political piece of garbage, blantly threw the idea in our face of, "this is what happens when government goes bad," kind of bullshit. Fuck you again George, for not being able to hide your mediocre view of the world, a little better. Need I say that he so did not get Anikin right (who was his own creation). He did not show the jealosy, and compitition and darkness and power hungryness and fear, or what ever makes a person turn into a monster. It is as if he never studied human behavior before. His lack of insight, comes from locking himself away in that good damn skywalker ranch and never leaving it. He forgot what real people are like. He surronds himself with yes men. He needs harrison ford to come back and yell at him some more. He needs pot to smoke. He needs to feed the birds and let his mind wonder. He needs to make a film that will not sell toys, but will disturb the viewer into realizing that the world and universe are a fucked up place. He needs to feel pain to live again. Howard Hughes became an asshole for a reason. He lived in stasis (what the fuck am I talking about). George (howard Hughes) Lucas, now lives in stasis in california. His beard has grown into his brain and dissolved all creativity. His fat jowles have choked off the oxygen that once fueled a special flame. Let David fincher direct a starwars movie, written by chuck palaniak, or someone else that understands the depths of a soul. Bring back Jack Karowac from the dead and let him write Anakins story. Let Dean Moriarty (Karowacs friend, not film nerd) play the part of Anikin. No more toys. No more toys. No more toys.

I've heard CGI come up a couple of times here, but I don't think anyone has been explicit enough about how badly the excessive CGI hurt the prequels. I suppose it's more a reflection of the problem than a cause of it (the problem being that Lucas lives in his own world), but one of the fundamental barriers to getting into the prequel trilogy is the cartoonishness of the whole thing, which was only accentuated by kicking them off with Jar Jar.

Welcome to the world of "meh". Here's why...
<P>
AICN is a website, and while it's been around for years it still doesn't have the reputation of traditional media because anyone who wants to can make a website while not anyone can just make a periodic magazine, tv or radio show. Websites may make up for that in numbers of viewers, but most don't - AICN probably among them.
<P>
Anyway, so someone writes a review here. Nice cathartic experience for them. Some readers may take their opinion as reason to see or not see a movie, but any thinking person would of course make up their own mind. Some reviews here get mentioned in the printed and aired media, and even sometimes on DVD covers and posters. This is the only way I see AICN having an effect on the rest of the world - and again since people probably make up their own minds, it's not a very big effect. I don't know what AICN's industry connections are, but I simply don't see the industry making huge changes because of it.
<P>
Then come the talkbacks. Where the general website going public can give their opinions. This of course means even less than the review. The opinions are like arseholes rule is epitomised here, some people with some rational discourse but this is drowned under the mass of bullshit most people spout. It seems to come down to that you're either a troll; someone who likes to chat in TBs; or a person who writes far too much and it just seems to come across as a tirade - kind of like what I'm doing.
<P>
I don't for a moment expect what I'm writing to make a bit of difference on the world. So why do it? Probably for the same reason as reviewers here - catharsis. It makes me feel better to see my thoughts in front of me. If I said I was going to stop, who would care? Only me.
<P>
So Mr Drew "Moriarty" McWeeny, keep writing. I hear you have a good job doing so, so at least your skills aren't totally put to waste. But I assure you that whether you keep writing about Star Wars or not, the only person this will affect is you. Thanks for the heads-up though.
<P>
As for that "guarantee that there's a huge percentage of these message board SW freaks who actually think that Lucas in some way raped them" - may I cash in my guarantee on this, as it's blatantly incorrect.

Hey, right on, man. You don't want to write about Lucas's movies anymore? Fuckin' A. I decided to not give such a shit about this guy after Episode I. In fact, I thought Episdode I should have been a massive wide shot of the Tunisian desert, with a buck ass naked Lucas laughing his jiggling tits off waving fistfuls of cash singing 'Boom, I got yo money!' at the top of his lungs. For three hours.<p>What helped me not give a shit was Peter Jackson dickslapping Lucas's so-called 'adventure' movie with his version of Lord of the Rings.<p>When I worked for UA Theaters as a projectionist, Fox had sent out memos stating in no uncertain terms that if every fucking frame of the trailers for Ep I didn't return in the cans as well as the prints of the movie...(If you've ever been a projectionist, and had a brain wrap or a fucking platter dump onto the floor, you understand how fucking impossible this shit is)...UA theaters wouldn't get the fucking sequels.<p>Our owner and the fucking distributors weren't laughing, and neither was the fucking Fox guy they sent to sit in on the run-through Wednesday night after build up. Yeah, they sent a guy to Florida, or had a rep there in one of the many shitty casting offices in Orlando sit alongside myself and the other manager as we watched Episode I.<p>We were told that if we talked about the film...IE put our review online (I hadn't even thought about a website dedicated to film...I was naive at the time) we'd lose our showings of the two sequels.<p>When pressed, in fact, during one of our clean-ups of the old projectors the owner of the theater showed me the sheaf of paperwork, signed by dudes at Fox and none other than that bearded fucking douche, Georgie Porgie.<p>So, to the doubters in the world of the TBs, let me just let me say that George Lucas and Lucasfilm, and even LucasArts are petty, fucking sellouts. Ask the guys over at Double Fine Games...Shit, ask me, as I was in a theater that was held hostage by fucking Fox. They wouldn't even let us keep the fucking one-sheets. Fuckers. They are that petty.

I actually appreciate your insight. George Lucas is a (mythic) legend in his own mind, but unfortunately propped by a legion of witless fans who don't think they deserve any better, but rather make excuses for what they get.

ok, I understand this is a geek site and hey im a geek. i saw the original star wars 15 times in the theater and drive-ins in the seventies man that movie was in theaters so long that towards the end of its run they would have trailers for empire!!
but its time to let go a little. I saw the film on thursday at a critics screening. i had read all the reviews on here so i was expecting an abomination of a film. for me it wasnt as much of a traumatic let down as it was for harry. people this is a kid's film. its airing on cartoon network and its openly trying to earn a younger audience. did I think it was a tour de force? of course not but it doesn't deserve the bile the fans are spewing at it. so sorry harry if it made you not want to buy your 200 falcon toy, your married now and over 30 im sure you'll survive. you know i may have felt differently if old georgie boy hadn't made episodes 1,2,3 but he did and any reverential kind of attitude i may have had was lost on him then. this movie makes perfect sense coming from his mind. if you love star wars you really need to thank ralph mcquarrie, lawrence kasdan, irving kirshner, akira kurosawa , doc smith. left to his own devices I dont think we would be talking about star wars today. so try just a little to be a tad more objective. its not high art , and yes the truman capote jabba was pretty funny, but the children in the audience loved it and were clapping for it. look we had our star wars and will always love it. and this isnt it anymore.

quit buying this shit.<p>
Don't go see it in a lame attempt to prove the reviewers, your gut instinct wrong..<p>
If you and 100,000 vother people don't go see it.<br>
That's $1,000,000 they won't make.<br>
And that is what will make them notice and rethink.<p>
But I know everyone will go pay their 10 bucks per head to see it and then run back to a forum somewhere and bitch<br>
Where it will go and join all the other intertube echos.<p>
You people really do deserve what you get.<br>
You keep rewarding monetarily the people you claim are wronging you.<p>
Your all Johns with buyers remorse.

Funny, Moriarty was the only person whose take on star wars has seemed honest and insightful over the years. So I guess if you're done writing about SW, I'm done reading about SW. Because its been years since I cared what anyone else said about it.

"articles" like this are why I barely come here anymore...somewhere along the line the clowns here like Mori and Harry began thinking they were superstars, like they were somehow entitled just cause they run a fucking (badly designed) website. Harry at least maintains a persona of the kind of crazy but lovable guy you know. Mori has always come off as a prick and now we all see confirmation, as his ego has spiraled out of control. It'd be sad if his demise weren't so funny.

go back to finger banging your mother in law<p>
But don't get to energetic<br>
You'll wake your wife-daughter<p>
And as for fucking myself<br>
My penis stretcher arrives wednesday.<br>
I learned about it from an unsolicited email<br>
Therefore it must be true<br>
I mean, really, they had a web page.

When I went to see TPM on the first day, the local theater hired what appeared to be the local high school football team to keep the "geeks" in line.<br>
There was one particularly disturbing incident that occurred that day. There were these three Japanese chicks a couple rows ahead of me. They were excited to be there (remember all the hype at the time) and decided to take pictures of some themselves with some of the elaborately-costumed dorks that are always at these things. After the cameras flashed, the fucking gestapo came out and TOOK THEIR FUCKING CAMERAS away and said a variation of the line you mentioned.<br>
"If pictures are taken in this theater, George Lucas won't let this theater show the sequels."<br>
Mind you, THERE WAS NO DAMN MOVIE PLAYING when those pictures were taken. Not even a trailer.

Also, can the Lucas butt-kissers stop the "Lucas clearly stated this is for kids" crap?<br>
Because I have yet to see such a statement in any of the ads I've seen. Nothing at all says that.<br>
In fact, the ad I keep seeing keeps touting the quote, "This is the movie Star Wars fans have been waiting for", which would seem to be a deception aimed squarely at those disgruntled "haters".

You are spot on. Not only do I question a "ban" but I wonder how Drew would feel if someone took a draft of one of his reviews before it was ready to publish. Wait. Draft? This is AICN, they just free write on the site.... So then I guess he wouldn't know what it feels like to have unfinished work stolen and published for the world to see...

...trying to get wet leather leggings off a woman who is kicking." George Carlin only made rape funny because he knew how to construct the joke. "Lucas Raped My Childhood" isn't a joke when wielded by people who actually are stating what they feel is a fact. Fuck Star Wars, Fuck it up its Stupid Ass Forever with the Dildo Knife from Se7en Forever. See, that's safe because I'm personifying the films as something that can actually be raped. I'm willing to bet anyone who says "Lucas Raped my Childhood" has actually been raped.

for all intents and purposes, the guy should have unlimited funding<br>
Even if he had to pay out of pocket.<p>
But he doesent<p>
And this is the shit he signs off on<p>
Keep sending that money to Lucas the hutt<p>
One of his chins will deposit it

of a young dark haired and dark bearded Lucas directing Star Wars<br>
(I refuse to call it a new hope)<p>
Well that fuzzy headed hopeful got intoxicated off the money that lunchbox sales generated.<p>
Since then he's gotten high off the smell of his own ass and he's never come down.<br>
And why should he<br>
People just throw mony at him.<p>
The prick vomits and people line up to roll in it.

art has no value<br>
other than what people are willing to pay to experience it after the fact.<br>
And, yeah it costs to make art.<br>
It always has.<p>
The only place it's free is inside your own head.<p>
But all your paying for is standing room.<p>
The art still exists whether your there or not.<p>
And the art don't care if you come see it or not.<p>
Your thinking of the artist and their posse

You've posted numerous spoilers of Lucas's films before their release. You think you're off the hook just because you didn't post an actual script? Not that Lucas himself actually gives a shit about you or even knows your name, but he does have people working for him (hell, he probably doesn't even know THEIR names) who scour the internet for exactly the kind of offenses you have committed. I'm not sure why that makes him a "bully". Sure, he made some disappointing Star Wars movies, and yes he likes to make money, but that's his right as long as people are willing to pay for his bullshit. But you've ALWAYS been a Lucas lapdog, and you're just butthurt that he doesn't actually care whether you like his shit or not.

cos, gosh, i'd hate (i didn't mean hate) to think that my appreciation of this film could be colored (i didn't mean colored) or gendered (i didn't mean gendered) by my sexual preference (i didn't mean sexual preference) by the fact that I am a hetro white male.<p>
After all, all I was looking for was a movie I could enjoy.

Thanks for injecting some much-needed sanity into this talkback. It blows me away when nerds whine about how "silly" the PT was. Sure, it's a valid complaint--if you're comparing them to Pan's Labyrinth. But not the OT. Star Wars and Return of the Jedi are as corny as a Kansas Christmas: hell, JEDI plays like a 2-hour Kenner commercial. Folks, get a proper perspective, move on, and leave SW to its intended audience: C-H-I-L-D-R-E-N.

Why is it that you gave AOTC and ROTS high marks at the time of their release, and yet proceeded to denigrate the entire trilogy in your Indy IV write-up? You had a tepid reaction to Spielberg's flick, yet you claim that you prefer THAT to any of the prequels? What gives? Sincere turnabout? Or were you just catering to the fanboys? (Who just happen to be the most unpleasant rotters in fandom.)

you totally lost me<p>
Mind 'splainin?<p>
But, I think (heh) sometimes, when i delve, I get pretty coarse.<br>
Usually when i'm trying to determine if it was whiters intent. actors intent, directors intent, or it just happened.<p>
But, if you bring it up, well then, your a fucking dick.<p>
Just cos, you go *what does that really mean?* <br>
And it doesn't really matter, other than trying to get a better grasp of the story and characters.<br>
to me anyway.<p>
I didn't find the clone wars gay or ghey.<br>
I found it disapointing to the n'th degree.<br>
I thing the very idea of producing it, insulting.<br>
How many times does Lucas think he can sell the same fucking story?<br>
I guess we're about to find out

are a lame attempt to go full circle.<br>
And an exercise in marketing.<p>
Nothing more.<p>
It was all an exercise in exploiting a beloved franchise.<br>
How else do you explain the utter horridness of the script, acting, anything other than the special effects.

I thot that was clear.<p>
But up through empire he was at least trying to tell a story first.<br>
By Jedi, it was all lunch pails and action figures that determined the plot<p>
The only reason there were prequels after almost a decade was a big fat cheque.<p>
Name something Lucas did between return and TPM.<br>
And if you pulled that off, name something you liked...<p>
It's far past the time that Lucas should be the custodian of the Star Wars 'verse

is interchangable with any other performance he has done.<p>
The only thing missing from his repertoire was him saying motherfucker.<p>
Sam Jackson is a wooden two dimensional actor<br>
He is basically the same in every part<p>
No matter how good he was in that part, he is still the same in this part.<br>
Sorry<br>
But that's how I see it

did anyone else notice that the end celebration parade theme in TPM is the exact same order of notes as The Emperor's Theme but given a jollier makeover? I always thought that was a flash of genius on William's part.

the 2nd indy wasn't as bad as the 3rd<br>
But it was light years away from the first.<p>
(that's like the kessel run to star wars nerds, huh huh huh).<p>
A little bit of story, a little bit of acting, on top of a disney ride.<p>
Admit it<br>
When you think of Indy2, you think, *at least it was better than indy3*<br>
Amd Sean Connery whining out *junior* every 45 seconds

First, you have to understand what this is: it's the first few episodes of a half-hour television series which will air on a children's cartoon channel. If you go in thinking it is the next epic "Episode" in the Star Wars saga, you'll be sorely disappointed. But if you take it for what it really is, you will realize that it is going to be a very cool TV show! I went into this expecting to be disappointed -- I loved Genndy's Clone Wars and am a Star Wars geek, but the trailers for this 3D version hadn't impressed me. Instead, I was surprised to find myself very entertained by this, especially during the second half when it becomes more light-hearted and comical. (I'd even say I liked it better than Wall-E.) We laughed a lot, and outside the theatre after the film all the kids were talking excitedly about their favourite aspect of the film: the comical battle droids. I'm really looking forward to watching more of this series on television with my kids!

by the time i got to the last 20mins of tod<br>
I just wanted it to end well (and it did) and soon<br>
Not the same with T2 or Aliens<br>
I was there all the way<p>
T2 almost pushed too far....<p>
<p>
Still, that is one thing Lucas did in a decade<br>
And I'll give you that, marginal as it is<p>
The guy is now raping the one trick pony that he blugoned into a pulpy pile like 20 years ago

Yup, Lucas is head of the field on editing and sound. THX-1138 alone shows that. I think it's a pretty safe bet that 100 years from now Lucas will be looked back on as one of the key figures in the history of cinema and all those crapola Pirates of the Caribbean, Spiderman and Harry Potter movies will be forgotten.

I can not believe this shit i'm reading and frankly I am disgusted with you and the majority the people on this site, and I too am boycotting this site from now on cause I do not want to read what a bunch of easily swayed sheep who eat your shit up like its fucking apple pie have to say about anything.
You are a fucking coward, penning all this embargo shit on George Lucas like he is some sort of "Boogyman" cause you don't have the stones to tell all these easily miss-lead readers that it was clearly Warner Brothers who enforced it. You made this shit personal like you and George Lucas actually have some sort of relationship and you come off like an absolute tool.
First you try to get all sentimental and get in touch with everyones fanboy bone by reminiscing about SW and how it changed your life, cause you know it will be easier for them to believe the lies your are about to try blind them with minutes later.
You talk about how you will never be discussing SW on this site ever again and then on the talk back later on you fucking write this!!! "it seems that the Hutts consider themselves one large extended family unit. Their "children" aren't children so much as they are literal extensions of themselves"
make up your fucking mind.
You knew the best way for you to save face in all this was to pull in all the "Lucas Bashing" crowd and the best way you could do that was to make out that the "Evil, Greedy Lucas Dictator" was out to get you despite all those years of your life you invested in supporting him.
Making a strictly business matter out like it was a personal vendetta against you from LUCAS HIMSELF is fucking laughable. You FUCKING CHILD! YOU FUCKING FUCKING CHILD.
Then you knew all those angry bitter nerds who feel as though Lucas actually owes them something cause they watched his movies will chime in and take your side and attack the man who gave all you disgusting pieces of shit an actual purpose in life. Your lonely sexless lives.
I hope Lucas comes into your house skull fucks your wife and analy fucks you with one of your nerd toy light sabers.. but alas he won't cause he doesn't even know who the fuck you are.
so so long fuckers... see ya Harry, you use to have a good site here.

Overlooked your Indy post. Lucas did indeed have a lot of control on Raiders, especially in post. And agree with you that TOD is not a patch on Raiders (which I think is one of the most truly flawless films ever made) but it is one of the greatest popcorn adventure movies ever.

All this whining about Lucas being a 'money-make-machine'. Christ - can we get something straight? If the guy was all about the money he could just get into real estate, then fuck off to a beach somewhere and save himself a lot of hassle.
Whenever some twat takes the "he's just after our dollar" stance I'm always reminded of Doug Stanhope's routine about fat, lazy, beer swilling morons taking the piss out of the worlds greatest athletes when they (inevitably) fuck up. They moan and bitch about how they're paid too much meanwhile wearing all the merchandise they can - which is WHY they get paid so fucking much!!!
Nobody can make ANYONE buy the shit!!!!!!?? It exists because someone really wants it! So just let it go for fucks sake. If there was no merchandising out there you'd probably be moaning about that instead!
What a cracked record, move on - you're begining to sound really pathetic.

Firstly, I applaud Moriarty for being fed up with a franchise that has sold out, turned out crap, and slapped some people around in the process. And yes they do seem to be singling him out a little. I still say good for him for being done (professionally) with SW.
Second, if you were to use a word, one single solitary word, to sum up feelings of violation, abuse, betrayal and a sullying of something that was once good pure and holy, what word would you choose? Is rape funny or trivial? Nah, I work around rapists all the time and there's nothing funny about it or them. It's not said to be funny, or at least some people don't use it that way. It's just meant to convey that feeling of awful.
Lastly, just 'cause I saw it in the talkback here, to hell with the Westboro Baptist Church. They are the pharisees of this generation and will receive theirs in the end.

I know some people are giving you shit, but this article sums up perfectly I think former SW geeks are feeling. SW is simply a pop reference now. I got nothing against Lucas, he's just making a living and not really doing any unwanted harm upon the world. But he is a fucking hack, sorry it's fact. You can defend him saying he's a great sound editor blah blah blah, butI don't think he knows how to create or direct anything vauguely compelling. And his insecciant marketing and profit motivated bullshit movies simply fuck up something that used to mean something to people. In reality what is SW now? It's silly uncoherrent noise, once a trilogy of greatness is now a tumble of prequels, two TV shows and a movie (?) of one single period that used to be interesting in it's mystery but now is just another ridiculous tangent of this tepid sci-fi franchise. And now a live action show? This time 'unravelling the untold story' of the fucking period between films again! Who gives a shit? You'll probbaly just fuck up more characters like you did with Boba Fett by making him an annoying New Zealend kid. I think it's time for all of us to leave SW in the past. "The world has moved on" as Roland might say. I support a boycott of SW related stuff on this site

If each Hutt only reproduces once, and asexually, then there must be a lot of multiple births, or there would be one, and only one, Hutt, for all time. Reminds me of the premise to the old TV series, "UFO." Remember that? Genetic sterility. In other words, if I can't reproduce, my kids won't be able to, either.

Over thirty years ago, lucas walked away from hollywood a broken man. drained, exhausted and emotionally and mentally shattered. This formed a more ruthless lucas. A man who would not tolerate any criticism whatsoever. Somebody on this thread said that garth Franklin got to skywalker ranch. I read that article. The new series of Star wars will be a day in the life of anakin skywalker and lucas promises that it will be much lighter in tone. Lucas doesnt have people who say, Gee george maybe you should try this. Lucas fires those people. I have heard the same thing about Matt Groening. Its his way or the highway. You have to be very careful when you make a film and you cannot afford to blab. You have to keep ideas to yourself. and you have to swear people to secrecy while working on them. I have a family member who is a filmmaker. His studio is small he has made a couple of shorts. and is working on bigger things. I cant say what they.

Carry that logic just a little further, if AICN ignores the requests of the studios and their publicity dept's then that 'exclusive cool news' dries up pretty fuckin quickly wont it?
OK, in this instance it would have been smarter to ignore this particular embargo, Lucas clearly is delusional...but to a certain extent its simply logical that any site that courts studios or vica versa becomes somewhat of a shill to get exclusives.

He made the films he wanted to make, if they don't hold up to this fantastical magical ideal you've created in your mind...thats YOUR problem, not his. <p>
He didn't put a gun to anyones head and force them to flock to see his stuff, they did it to themselves because for some reason they couldn't let go of the notion of Star Wars as this perfect movie. <p>
It isn't, never was. To paraphrase Vince McMahon, Lucas didn't screw the geeks, the geeks screwed the geeks! <p>
Is it true about Mori naming his kid after Lucas? Thats just pathetic if so. After he wrote this squeal for attention, I'll bet he sat next to a window with tears in his eyes...tenderly touching the glass, picturing Lucas doing the same. "Why George, why? Why won't you let me in?...to your ass!!" Like a said, hope the blow to your credibility and self respect was worth it.

A guy like Lucas who has built up such an empire off of the backs of Star Wars fans and who draws huge opening weekends essentially coasting off of the good will of the original series--he owes his fans more than the junk he's put out. But I think you're hitting at a more fundamental point that people should vote with their wallets. So, if you don't like the way Lucas has treated you, stop buying the movie tickets and other junk he's selling.

Most of us grew up in the 80s In addition to a room full of action figures and playsets, I had R2-D2 underwear, ate C3POs for breakfast, and brushed my teeth with a Han Solo tooth brush. Now in 2008 we are calling Lucas a sell out like it's some kind of revelation?

You praised AOTC and ROTS upon release, only to tear the trilogy to tatters in your Indy IV write-up. About-face? Or do you just not have the balls to back up your convictions, like Knowles, who supposedly "endured" Jar Jar and Hayden?

Samurai Jack? Quite a few anime shows? Heck, the last Clone Wars series was brilliant. But if you're referring to the entirety of animation, then that's a close-minded thing to say, because there's a lot of great animation in the world.

Hollywood Blvd. one night when he looked over at the people dressed up like Star Wars characters and said, "Star Wars is the new Rocky Horror Picture Show."<br><br>And I laughed and I laughed. You know, because it's true.

You're making too much sense. Pointing out that Return of the Jedi was just a turgid rehash of the original film. (Its only novelty being the most shamelessly sentimental redemption story committed to celluloid. "Dad, stop blowing up planets and torturing people!" "Well...okay. I love you.") That McDiarmid's PT output constitutes the best acting of the series. (Seriously, there were moments in ROTS when I thought I was watching I, Claudius.) That Lucas had a substantial role in the success of Raiders. That the, (drumroll)...HOLY TRILOGY(!!!)isn't even a hair on the glorious visage of Pan's Labyrinth, and that the fanboys swear fealty to trumped-up children's films. Stop it! You're making too much sense!

http://mag.awn.com/?&article_no=3734
"George put Jabba in it," concedes director Dave Filoni, who serves as supervising director of the series... "It wasn't really the original plan, but when the master of the universe says it's going to be Jabba's son, you make it work."
<br>
George Lucas admits that when he made Revenge of the Sith, the final Star Wars feature, he lamented the fact that he had to jump over The Clone Wars since it had nothing to do with the Anakin Skywalker story.

That's just like Sting saying for decades that the Police was his past and he no longer had any interest in that music or his old band, that he'd grown out of that phase of his life and would never return to it; i.e. no Police reunion. AND THEN THE NEXT THING YOU KNOW....

They all hated each other. they even had seperate planes to take them from the different arenas and not once did they talk to each other before or after . Sting Manager was coplands brother and resigned at the start of tour. Saying he would never work with sting again.

pdennett316, i was referring to your earlier post, titled "The old Star Wars flicks..."
<br><br>
i liked moriarty's article. However, i still think some of these Star Wars fans take things WAY too personally.

I think the prequels really were junk, and I'm not saying that because it's the cool, tough guy opinion. They WERE junk. The dialogue was terrible. Otherwise decent actors gave bad performances. The CGI creatures were bad not because they were CGI, but because they were just obnoxious and totally took you out of the movie. TPM was boring, and Jar Jar was ridiculous. The AOTC love story was also ridiculous. The Grievous character, stupid. The transition from Anakin to evil was unconvincining, and he was never sufficiently likable or menacing to hold my attention. The overall amount of CGI plus cartoonish (not just cartoons, but I'm talking Looney Tunes) CGI characters gave it an unintentional Roger Rabbit vibe. The prequels are a huge disappointment. Boring characters. No real tension. Nothing feels remotely organic. I will grant that Palpatine/Emperor was good, but not great. He only seems so good, because he's surrounded by such dreck.

boring political play about the abuse of power. the trade block stuff bored everyone. none of the actors with the exception of MacDiarmuid and Lee were up to snuff. I felt very quesy while watching the scene where Anakin meets Padme or the first time. The effects with Gaugun home world looked terrible. when I sent the review to my brother, I tore the film apart.

I'm not a Trekkie by which I mean I haven't seen all of the Trek films and don't really get it. I do think the Sylar guy as Spock looks like a good fit. I don't know. What I like about Abrams is that he's not afraid to approach seemingly worn out ideas (Mission Impossible franchise, big monster running amok in New York, okay I'm out of gas with that) and making them feel a little bit fresh. Anyway, I'm curious to know what you would have them do with Star Trek, although I have to warn you that if it involves the return of Wesley Crusher and a fragile treaty between Romuluns and the Borg, I will have no idea what you're talking about.

First, I want to start off by saying that Tom Cruise has been very misunderstood, and I find him to be a great inspiration and source of personal strength. He has a terrific smile, and boundless enthusiasm. By which I mean that I have a small fountain statue of him in my backyard, and I like to smile at it wistfully while I water my tulips.

Just joking, I think he's bonkers. But I though MI:3 was actually the best of the series, especially coming off of that ridiculous John Woo stuff where he's able to jump off a motorcycle going 190mph, kick the bad guy in the head eight times and then send a text message before landing back on his bike.

Wow, turn down the intensity, tough guy. I like Lost, thought Cloverfield was good, thought MI:1 was boring, MI:2 was ridiculous, and MI:3; well, Phillip Seymour Hoffman. I have no idea what Jar Jar Abrams or Abrahams means, but I'm sure mesa tinks its an adorable bit of levity.

I think you're just in love with DePalma or something, and that's your usual schtick just like going on about what a great film maker John Carpenter is with Halloween, blah, blah. blah. MI:1 is boring.

I drove 65 miles to see it in 1977. We were on the second row, and someone next to us fired up a doob (yes, you could smoke in a theater in 1977). Nothing will touch that moment for me, being a fan of E.E. Smith. I don't expect much from the man anymore, much like George Romero. Much love for the early work, but since...meh.

Mesa tinks dat sometimes one good actor does a watchable movie make. I don't see how that movie was a love letter to Tom Cruise's awesomeness any more than any other action vehicle is a love letter to any other action star. The character is an action hero, even in the first one, Cruise's face is the only one on the poster. Plus, look at a movie like Vanilla Sky, which I think was clearly a risk on Cruise's part--it was trippy and offbeat and kind of turned the whole Tom Cruise golden boy thing on its ear. I think Tom Cruise may be a whack job, but I think he's underappreciated as an actor. Plus, Phillip Seymour Hoffman.

I think risky may have been the wrong choice of words on my part. All I'm saying is that when you look at Magnolia, then Vanilla Sky, then Transformers...oh, sorry. I think Tom Cruise has shown some willingness to branch out, which is more than I can say for a lot of actors out there. Like, when is the last time you saw Harrison Ford or Tom Hanks or Nicolas Cage do anything remotely offbeat (no, Ladykillers doesn't count).

Those movies you mentioned and Vanilla Sky are all from the last 10 years. I think that's a positive step. And what is the ratio of "I'm-the-awesomest-Crest-smiling-guy-in-the-world" movies to this kind?

I can dig it man. You had to be there. Everyone was ready for that shit at the time, and there it was. I even had to get a jump cuz my car died to get there. Never underestimate the power of the elder geek ;-)

Yoda, as voiced and manipulated by Frank Oz, was the best part about the OT. In fact, Empire is given its weight in large part through the "Yoda" character and the delivery of this well thought out lines. Now in the Prequels..everyone sucked ass...especially the guy playing the part of the "Director", what a hack job.

from my animation producer cousin. I hadnt seen raising arizona in years. All of their films were great. except one. The ladykillers. I tried watching it and seem really laboured and unfunny. I liked the first hour intolerable crulety and hated the rest. WHo knew Catherines Zeta jones credibility would be shreded in open court. and she lost what little popularity she had. she wasnt very popular in the uk anyway. I still think their best film is No country for old men.

because some of the most passionate fans are right here, as well as those who can pay to see it. Remember Harry's preview of AOTC without the special effects. How he kept saying throughout don't fuck it up! no Jar-jar! whew it's a new prequel without jar-jar! but then no review about the hack job of a hack director who's last cut of 1977 SW was cut by someone ELSE. That's right, the studio still chose someone else at the end to do the final cut of SW.
Anyways, thanks to that harry's preview I brainwashed myself into forgiving and accepting and made it into the theater, now years later AOTC is lowest of the 6 for me, and I can't watch it anymore without disgust. Most of the older fans who saw the original in the theaters before they were 12 are right here, with the $$$. So this place had an embargo. Hack Lucas still wanted us in for opening day. thanks to these talkbacks on the reaction of the embargo, I could safely agree CW was a dud and I haven't got to see it, and actually I'm glad I broke free . I don't even feel like I ever will , or even watch the series, until they do something post Ep.IV if ever. Rottentomatoes average of reviews has been a far better indicator these days. only 80% and above are worth watching as long as you have decent sample space (i.e. > 100 reviews).

...that is a tough one for me, because I didn't see it until after it won the oscar and there was all the buzz, etc. I thought everything on screen was really well done, but I felt like the whole ***SPOILER***abrupt disappearance/death of Brolin's character was stupid. And, yes, I've heard that that is how it is in the book, too. Still, I think it's stupid and sloppy and a cheat, and I think it's bunk when people try to do these crazy narrative tricks and then we're all supposed to applaud how risky (my word of the day) and unconventional it is, like that is automatically a good thing. Plus, I thought the whole weapon that guy used was a bit ridiculous. But I thought the dialogue and performances and atmosphere were all awesome. Kind of feel apart for me in the last half hour.

I think I am probably on the same page as kryllite over all, but I don't see how AOTC can be worse than TPM. Just hacking Jar Jar Abrams out of the thing, right there, that would automatically make it better than TPM even if all that remained was a movie about Britney Spears and Count Chocula joining the Jedi Council. P.S. Have any of you guys seen that movie Shattered Glass? I actually thought Hayden Christiansen was pretty good in it, which just further solidified how bad George Lucas did as a director.

Lucas was alway interested in speed. that was how his accident happened. He wrapped his car around a tree. in modesto. and nearly died. That car accident changed him. he became rebellious. HIs father wanted him to fight in vietnam and like loads of kids in the end of the 1960s he told his dad where to go and Went to film school where he met the berg and Marty Scorcese and Depalma and francis Ford Coppolla. They were all rebellious. and wanted to make films and to change the system if they could. lucas was the only one and the only one of that group who believed that technology was going to change they way films were made. What turned him into the person he is now? it was the falling out he had with Coppolla over the Apocalpyse now script and the decision by the WB to dump his THX 1138 film. WHen those two things happened Lucas snapped and that was what turned him into the ruthless corporateer he is today. He and his wife divorced. that cant have been good. Techology came first but then it was merchandise that made him the billionaire that talkbackers loathe and hate today. Remember Star wars was lucas way's of creating new technology, new sound and vision. That was really all the movies were. Lucas created ILM who have been pioneers in motion picture effects for over thirty years. On the back of star wars he created the most advanced cinema sound system in america since dolby and sourround. THX sound. So while you are all kicking lumps out of lucas for milking his cash cow which he created as an act of rebellion against his old man. The next you enter a film theater, just remember who created THX sound and when you watch a film with effects in them and you see the ILM. remember whice company created them. Jar Jar Binks still stinks.

I might have mis-typed and said you posted the script -- but reviewing an incomplete script is just as bad in my opinion. Let the man finish his work. I would ban you from the ranch and spend money on suing you for receiving stolen property. I think you got let off easy.

Have you read Lucas's liner notes on the THX DVD? He says although his other films have been more successful THX is the one he is most proud of, and the one that's closest to his cinematic heart. Reminds me of that Coppola quote about Lucas: "No matter how much money Star Wars makes, and no matter how important that franchise is, it isn't worth a tenth of what George Lucas can do, and what he's capable of as an artist."

I think we all do more and more. Nothing's ever good enough because we live in a world of ridiculous expectations.
I really dislike anyone who says that "I hate this movie and anyone who likes it must be retarded/idiotic/some other insult."
Let people have their own opinions without insulting them. Let them make up their own minds and we'll let you make up yours.
Back to the point, I think that new Star Wars only tarnishes the old Star Wars if you let it.

honestly...Look Lucas is a great film maker, but it doesn't mean those films were great...IF there were now Star Wars, the prequels would have been a good, but not staggering, sci fi trilogy - it was the pent up fanboy expectations that drove the box office through the roof - the movies on their own merit? 7/10 at best...

I don't think Lucas is a good filmmaker. I love Star Wars, but looking at the prequels and listening to him talk about which star wars films are apparently "the best" and how EMPIRE is actually "the worst" i'm starting to think he may of pulled a M. Night Shamalan and fluked the first couple of movies. I cant remember the exact quote Lucas made but it basically said that the fans were tricked into thinking EMPIRE was great because of the great marketing behind the film. If Mori didn't say the whole thing about "its the art not the artist" i probably would of been put off Star Wars for good.

I don't even see the point of this movie - hell, we've all got the clone wars dvds don't we ? How much more do we need ? This sounds like some kind of bastard stepchild who'll never be invited to eat with the rest of the family.

After that script review, I'd hire some malcontent to off the sod, and mail his greasy undershirt to Knowles, with the message "Drew McWeeny sleeps with the fishes." Knowing Harry, he'd probably eat the fish.
George Lucas, you're a better man than I. Just keep on bilking the nerds!

prequils fucking suck<p>
Remember the final scene in BSG<br>
They're in the ruins<br>
Everyone in their own way is experiencing mega-disappointment.<br>
Saul is looking at ashes<br>
Six is looking at Saul<br>
She reaches out to his back<br>
But never actually touches him<br>
(They brought forth a scene)<br>
She was *yearning* towards him.<br>
One fucking second of fucking perfection.<br>
Magnificent.<p>
I would rather see these broken and humbled people build a life, than see more of how they got there.

it's that simple. even the success of this little shit of cartoon concern him. the guy asked the director of Empire to "please do a good job because I have to build Skywalker ranch". That's all he wants, for naive geeks to buy his shit so he can make money to buy bigger toys for himself.

that people are going to hate Lucas so much that they swing back around and start loving him again.<p>
I think it's close, perhaps the live action show will be the trigger.<p>
I'll bet Mori's close friends and family can't wait till he girlishly minces towards them frothing at the mouth with glee to let them know his feelings about the new show. I get the feeling they'll be on holiday that week for fear of catching teh geek off him.<p>
No doubt he'll name each one of his sperm after his celebratory spanking of his light sabre.

Well, i'll give him the benefit of the doubt - American Graffiti was pretty impressive (tough it is dated)...as people point out, Indiana Jones was great...I think the problem with Lucas is that he surrounded himself with "yes" men and basically isolated himself from society on the Skywalker Ranch...shades of Howard Hughes...

I distinctly remember shortly after I saw Return of the King for the first time, at BNAT in '03. I went... I think that these films are replacing STAR WARS in my heart. It felt a little bit traitorous. I mean, I am the girl who saw EMPIRE 3 times, opening day. When I was 10. I skipped school with my two brothers (and my mom) and my older brother's senior high school pals so we could see JEDI. I remember being furious about the Leia-sister reveal in the paper before I saw it. I mean, dammit, that was huge!... So, I agree a bit with Drew. I don't think Lucas owes me anything, and those memories of that time, and those films are really precious to me, certainly. 'raped'...Hardly. Let down, maybe. Hypocritical is the word that comes to mind concerning the faux-embargo. What a bunch of shite, man. I am not obsessing with the LoTR stuff though. I own no action figs except the Minas Tirath that came with the extended box-set of RoTK. Maybe if I gave Jackson all my money Lucas would give a shit again?

We were on an outing in Checzlovakia.<br>
The outriders returned with a paltry two wenches.<br>
Eleven or twelve if I recall.<br>
Barely bleeders.<p>
We killed their menfolk in front of them.<br>
They didn't seem to appreciate our efforts.<p>
Eh, anyway, we made a weekend of them and the troops welcomed some new slattens.

Off topic Star Trek talk. I'm a Star Trek purist. The original series is probably my favorite television show of all time, and all 6 feature films they made I felt were very well done, with the weakest of the series being Star Trek 5. I cannot picture any other actors playing these roles. Shatner, Kelley and Nimoy ARE Kirk, Mcoy and Spock. I wouldn't do anything with Star Trek. I would let it go. Either that or try another tv series. I guess this new film they are doing scares me because it would be like them re-doing Star Wars with different actors playing Luke, Leia and Han. The reason why the OT was so good was because of the chemistry between the performers, which was largely absent in the prequels. Similarily it was the chemistry between Bones, Kirk and Spock that made the original Star Trek so good. I hope this new Star Trek film kicks ass and that I really believe that I am watching a story about a young fresh-out-of-the-academy Kirk, but its going to take a fucking kick ass script and great performances to do it. If J.J Abrams pulls it off I will be the happiest Trekker on the planet....but I have serious doubts.
In regards to Star Wars, I was satisfied by the prequels, but not enamored with them. The OT is still pure Star Wars to me, this new Clone Wars cartoon doesnt offend me in the least, because sub-par product has ALWAYS been part of Star Wars. (Those Ewok movies and Droids cartoons are the finest examples of that.) And Lucas? I can't hate the man because he created Star Wars, something which I love...but he's really just a tech guy, he's not a great director by any standards. I was way more let down by Indy 4 than the prequels and came out of that very dissillusioned. I wish they hadn't made that film at all. But the prequels, I'm glad they got made, if not we'd all be BEGGING Lucas to make them.

I just took a rather intense and satisfying bowl movement and just for the fun of it, I took a peek in the bowl to marvel at my own glandiwork. An lo and behold, what to my wondering eyes did appear? A massive turd not unlike the new Clone Bores movie only far, far and away more entertaing, less offensive to the senses, and dare I say more intelligent in every way (don't ask me how poop can be "intelligent" it just was.) So fuck yeah, I agree with Mori and most of the other critics on the planet that have rightfully blasted Lucas's latest abomination/abortion. God help the younger generations for whom this crap IS Star Wars. It's not. That dream-filled and visionary work belongs to a different time. All we're left with now is another excuse for The CEO of the Evil Empire to sucker his fans into buying more useless plastic based on characters that look like they're made out of even more plastic and possess the same range of acting. That neckless fuck has crapped over his own "legacy" and no doubt will continue to do so until his once great films are a far distant memory. Sad and pointless. Enjoy your bubble bath of cash you souless cunt Lucas. You traded being an artist for eveything you claimed to have contempt for. Thus ends my rant and my final wasted words on the works of this hack. Fuck you George Lucas! And for those of you naive enough to pay hard earned dough to see this piece of shit he calls Star Wars, enjoy the golden shower. If that's what you're into.

I just don't get it<p>
Why would someone poison their own well<p>
on one hand you have a kick ass story that can go anywhere<br>
On the other hand you have lunchboxes, but only if you gimp the story.<p>
I know what I would choose<br>
But then I've never been tempted by lunchbox revenue

had a terrible first hour, all over the place, trying to reconcile all the things that Jackson had botched in the first two. There's some great stuff in it (particularly the Mount Doom sequence which has real power) but the end celebration scenes are really badly done. "My friends, you bow to no-one" - jeez. And the final scene, which should be the most emotional scene, ends up looking and sounding like something out of bad Star Trek. The more I watch the Lord of the Rings films the more I dislike them.

When those films came out all you could hear on this site was the gushing sound of Hyperbole from Harry knowles. When The hobbit comes are all the people who are kicking Jackson and Lord of the rings are they going to disappear when the inevitable gushing from Harry starts again? they will be embargoed or censored. Harry probably has his ticket booked for New Zealand already. and I can just hear it now " I got a call from peter Jackson"........

Yeah, agreed about the Elrond bit. I have to admit i'm a bit of a Tolkien devotee, not in that I dress up as a hobbit or anything like that, but I love the world he created (If there's anybody out there that hasn't read The Silmarillion you really should). So there's whole pages I could write about how Jackson mistreated Tolkien's work. There's no point though, as I appreciate a lot of the book had to be junked for commercial and financial reasons, and to attract an audience of teenage Americans. But the worst thing about the films is the cheap melodrama of it all, every scene between Liv Tyler and Hugo Weaving is teeth-gratingly bad, as though Jackson and co are trying to distill the themes of Tolkien into a couple of sentences. And why didn't Aragorn reforge the sword in Rivendell and take it with him, instead of having Elrond gallop half-way across Middle Eart to deliver it to him in ROTK? Then there's the lame-o warg attack (made up just to cram in an action sequence in case the audience was nodding off at that point in Two Towers). And the shabby rewriting of Aragorn's character, turning him into a simpering emo-warrior just so Jackson and co could give him one of their beloved 'character arcs' (As though Tolkien hadn't actually thought about that when writing the book). My favourite part in the trilogy is the Khazad Dum sequence from FOTR -now that is pretty awesome filmmaking. And streets ahead of anything in Spiderman, Harry Potter, Iron Man, Dark Knight etc. Rant over. 70% of the LOTR films are still damn impressive though.

Yeah, the Shelob sequence is pretty cool, especially the low angle shots of Shelob above Frodo just before he stings him. Though that's reminded me of the whole 'Sam giving up on the quest' subplot Jackson and co added to ROTK, where Sam abandons Frodo to go off with Gollum, which makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

Maybe Lucas, but everyone on your list except Nolan has a long way to go to match Catch Me if You Can, Munich, Minority Report, even AI and War of the World, Iron Man was good, but doesn't even belong in the list above and that's not even Spielberg good films...I like Favrou, but let's see him make a Jaws, Close Encounters, ET type film before we crown him...now Nolan that's another story, brillant!

You people have no backbone. None of you. You will sit at your computers day in, day out, acting high and mighty like what you do is important. Ranting and raving about movies. I wouldn't trust a review from anyone at AICNif my life depended on it. They're so jaded and corrupt it's not even worth reading this site anymore. Oh what's the Matter Mori? You got caught doing something stupid at the Ranch and was banned? Trust me, that had to be why because you only get banned because you acted like an idiot. Giving a bad review doesn't get you banned. So you can whine and bitch and complain about this all you like, but if any of you idiots had half a brain, you'd do your research.
WB had NO child's offerings this part of the summer. With all of season one being completed on the CW series, WB went to Lucasfilm about releasing the first story arc as a "children's film". This was a no brainer because after the 4th episode, a whole new story arc starts. It also helped because the tone of the series becomes darker from this particular story. This film is not expected to make bundles of cash as everyone here seems to think Lucas is in it for. The Clone Wars "Movie" is for the Kids. Plain and simple. The fact is, the Midnight show I attended was packed with adult fans who left very pleased with what they saw. They were excited about the series. This site is loaded with Anti-Lucas, "He raped my Childhood with the Prequels" haters. This is the truth. No one will convince actual fans otherwise. AICN, since TPM has been anti-Lucas with a few exceptions here and there, but the Talkbacks have been consistent. Everyone is pointing fingers at the "Money Machine". What no one realizes is that Lucasfilm and all their related companies provides everything from special effects work through ILM for 90% (or more) of the films released per year to the Ranch Library that is used by studios for research. Lucas doesn't need to make these films. Lucas doesn't need to make these TV series. The SW line of toys is ALWAYS in the top 5 in sales every year and more often then not, at Number 1. With or without a movie. The man has yet to release the DVD set in HD or Blu-Ray because he was waiting on which format would win. If I was a money grubbing asshole, I would have released it already in BOTH formats when everyone was buying one or the other. The release last year of the OT: PRE-SE is what YOU asked for. Lucas had no intension of ever releasing them that way. So you got exactly what you wanted and STILL bitched because it wasn't formatted at 1080i and didn't have all the bells and whistles. You bitch and complain at any given moment when he does something you don't like, then when you actually get what you want, you still bitch and complain because it's not EXACTLY what you wanted. How can he win? Well, back to why you're idiots, he DOES WIN. Why? Because for every 10 of you who say you'll boycott Lucas and his wares, MAYBE 1 of you actually do. And frankly, the Talkbackers probably make up .001% of the actual Star Wars fan base. so no one really cares what Mori, Harry, Quint or Alexandra think of this movie, this TV series and the upcoming live action series... which by the way, is shaping up to be something TRULY amazing and geared towards the ORIGINAL fans. But hopefully you fucks will stick to your guns and miss out.

Lucas knew from the beginning that if he tapped into the right group of kids in the 70's, he would still be selling toys 30 years later. and guess what? he still is.
The prequels were made for the next generation of kids to sell toys.
why do you think the prequels made so much $$$?
You fanboys obviously hated them.
I would then assume you only saw them once.
Where did all the millions come from?
Kids, man. Little fucking kids.
Lucas had a built in audience from TPM who would guarantee Ep II and III would make $$$.
He did the exactly the same thing 30 years ago.
And I'm sure he'd do it again if he could.

I went in with LOW expectations. and as an above poster called it...judged as a feature length promo to a kids saturday morning style show it was a blast. This is absolutely not an episode in the film saga - just a decent KIDS movie. <p>
Jabba's uncle though - that was unforgiveable.

I went in with LOW expectations. and as an above poster called it...judged as a feature length promo to a kids saturday morning style show it was a blast. This is absolutely not an episode in the film saga - just a decent KIDS movie. <p>
Jabba's uncle though - that was unforgiveable.

ive been a reader from AICN.com for almost 10 years now, and i'm posting for the first time - it is that important - just to give u my total support. IM DONE WITH LUCAS AND HIS NARROWMINDED, MONEYSUCKING, AUDIENCEINSULTING, WHOREMILKING VISION OF STAR WARS. it is obvious that further options on this series are going to be just the same, or even worse. i'm done with this.

It's also the saddest, but it certainly makes me laugh so hard it's untrue. Mori...everybody else...just ease the motherfuck down. We don't owe Lucas anything and he owes us fucking zilch. It all balances out, like the Force. The Clone Wars is just another movie, albeit a very experimental one from Lucasfilm's pov. If it failed in certain people's eyes it failed. We have no right to be angry about that, just as we've no right to be pissed if Lucasfilm don't want to play ball with sites and reviewers, if they want to slap embargoes on their daughters' cunts, we should be ashamed of ourselves for whining like children. We are NOT children anymore! Mori, I agree 100% with your view that you have thousands upon thousands of other movies to get excited about and analyse AND that Star Wars NEVER WAS worth getting SO fucking wound up over. This is something that peaked in 1980 FFS. It's like people ranting on and on about The Beatles over and over again, how they can't be touched. It's complete bullshit. Lennon and McCartney were just songwriters, not gods. LUCAS IS NOT A GOD and I laugh in anyone's face (including his bearded own) for thinking otherwise. He's only 'raped' or 'bullied' anyone the same way as ANYONE ELSE DOES IN THEIR BUSINESS LIVES. Star Wars was such a huge success that no-one now gives a rat's fuck whether anything related to it is critically successful, only commercially successful. It's hilarious. It's all a stupid sick demented gag. HOWEVER...this affects us HOW???????? Don't make me laugh.

You're right about the nostalgia thingy... when those prequels first came out, I was hoping for fresh fish. Turns out those pesky things were dried up and tasteless. It's just a shame that Lucas made them. You have to admit, the original films are definitely tainted because of the prequels. Not to mention the "imrovements" made to the originals.
And... good call on the LOTR films. Gooshy some of the Aragorn scenes may be, it was still a pretty dern good trilogy. Can you imagine if Micheal Bay directed them??? Yeesh!!

I have contended from the rise of the internet that the PT fanbase was a niche bunch of fanboys who were louder then they appear, and this weekends gross proves it right. EVERYONE I know thinks the PT was average to bad and doesn't really care about it anymore. But places like TFN had these weirdos who would say that The Phantom Menace was better then the Original SW! They even had a thread titled, "ANH...is it meh?" I always said once the OT fanbase makes a statement we will see the true PT audience that George loves to please so much, and they got him a 3rd place finish in an opening weekend = PATHETIC!!! The OT audience is the heart and soul of SW and Lucas pisses on all of us by treating the original versions like shit, while we are stuck watching the crappy SE with Hayden inserted as a force ghost. Lucas got what he wanted, and this is his fanbase now. 3rd Place George, enjoy!

Do you know that movie tickets from 99-05 are about 3 times the amount they were from 77-83? If you go on www.boxofficemojo.com and hit the all-time boxoffice (inflation adjusted) then you will see that the OT movies, even without the rerelease money and SE money, STILL made more then the PT movies, cause it cost me $3.00 to see ESB in 1980, and $10.00 to see ROTS in 2005, so of course many movies today will have bigger numbers then the past.

Yes, I understand that... That would place The Dark Knight (which before I get slammed, I absolutely LOVED and saw 4 times) at #39, not #2 (which is where Star Wars is) and puts ESB @ 12, ROTJ @ 14 and TPM @ 19. Sith is at 57... still People still shelled out that money over and over again. People still made ROTS 57. HOWEVER, Top Trilogies, The PT is #1 and the OT is #3.

A NOT SO LONG TIME AGO.............
In This Galaxy...............George Lucus wrote a science fiction story. Not one geared towards kids or adults or the toy market coorparate executives. He wrote a story because he liked to make films, He liked to make films about people(THX-1138, American Grafitti). One day after nine different draft scripts, that are all very different from each other, Star Wars was made. People all over the world were transported into an intergallactic struggle between good and evil. They wanted to be a jedi knight or darth vader. They wanted to use lightsabers and fly in spacecraft at light speed. They wanted robot friends and jawa nieghbors. They wanted to escape.
It did not matter how old you were. For George Lucas, he was on top of the world. The success of A New Hope, lead coorperate executives to Fox studios in California. They wanted to make toys, and they worked out a deal, with George, the studio execs and the toy manufactuer...............This is when the trouble started.
George went ahaed and put his ideas that would not fit in the first script, and made too more movies, completing a trilogy of films. Toys sold through the roof. They could not keep them on the shelf. 20 Years later people would pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars for toys in their original packaging.........................
Since the release of the origanal movies hundreds of books and comics have been added to an ever expanding universe that was starwars, truly making it a galaxy of its own. George Lucus became very rich, starting his own empire in Northern California's Marin County hills. He decides one day that he will tell the story of how Darth Vader became the maniac killer from space. He toiled everyday and worked out deals with executives until a patchwork picture was made, with an emphasis on selling toys. George Lucas read the reviews on his movie and did not understand why everybody was so angry with him. He had jedi and Lightsabers and spaceships, and bad guys, yet for some reason, nobody liked his film. They mindlessly bought toys and stood in line for the films, and wrote bad reviews on the internet, but something was wrong. His ticket sales proved the new movies to be a success, so what was wrong.
Some reviews said that the acting in the new movies was wooden and the dialogue just as wooden. Some people said Jar Jar binks was the biggest asshole in the universe. Some people even said that Yoda looked like a rubber toad, and so did Sam Jackson..................
So Lucas sat in bed day after day. "What is missing, what is missing?" He asked and a knock came at his door. A man whos head and face were hidden under a hood, entered his bedroom. He told George of ideas that would have made his movies better. Ideas like. #1 You should have made the clone wars the orignal struggle from the first movie on.
#2 Make Anakin a falible person, one that somehow connects to all people.
#3. Make the clone armie a scarry group, maybe under their helmets, they are like a gelatness mess, with super smart brains, but no human emotions.
#4 maybe make the Jedi die in ways that make peoples skin crawl.
#5 make people feel for the charaters in the movie.
The list went on and on, and George nodded his head in agreement. He told the hooded man that he was having trouble with the human side of the movie, and that these 5000 suggestions could have helped him make a better movie. George said, "So no Jar Jar and No Jango fett." the man nodded. "And no heavy politics, but that is the way the would is these days." The man said that that is the way the world is all the time, and that people wanted an escape from that. The man pulled a device out of his pocket and said, "This is a time travel device, it will allow you to go back and talk to yourself, so you can make better movies." the man activated the device, and a portal formed in George's bedroom. Before George walked through the portal, he turned to say one last thing to the man. "But these are kids movies!" George exclaimed. The man said "That is no excuse to make crap, kids aren't stupid, they are filled with wonder." And george stepped through the portal and changed the past..................
When the new trilogy was released People fell all over themselves, for them. They were the second coming of a new batch of great movies. Georges place in movie mastery was secure..

is a fan of derivative, poorly conceived, poorly written, poorly acted expensive shit that gets far too much attention while true quality work goes unnoticed. The first movie was fun when it came out. Except if you watch it now and you realize it's just as much garbage as its successors. It's about time some of you dweebs started to wake up to the scam that is George Lucas.

George Lucas didn't rape my childhood. (I have never used that phrase). But he ABSOLUTELY DID rape Star Wars...and not simply by making ever inferior products that manage lessen what came before in historical proportions (that would not be enough as lack of talent isn’t a crime)- but Luc-ASS did rape Star Wars by ERADICATING the original and far superior versions from the face of the planet. <P> No, George Luc-ass didn't walk into our houses and steal our VHS tapes- but he did maul the movie negatives of the films and refuses to ever release the originals in any usable quality format. I am not sure anything this absurd has happened to a major movie (outside the infamous attempt at a little RKO project)...but this is overtly obscene- and some of Lu-ass's idiot fans amazingly EXCUSE this. <P> Can anyone even imagine if Coppola re-made the Godfather with Captain McClusky shooting at Michael first, inserting a huge CG gangsta battle with a hundred Corleone reinforcements for the Sonny killing scene, and generally added scenes that make a mockery of the characters, then never allowed the original to be released on anything after VHS? To call Lucas a jackass is an understatement of indescribable proportions. Can you Imagine if this idiot’s treatment of film became the standard in Hollywood? Thank GOODNESS NO- because apparently no one in Hollywood is as much of an overt ass (and now talent less hack) as Lucas is. <P> I once loved Star Wars... -but from what I see Moriarty’s dealings with Lucas seem pretty much in character for the man….thank goodness there are far more talented directors whose outstanding work we can enjoy.

Thats right folks..this thing won't crack $30M domestic. Fuck You George Lucas, you lonely, self absorbed, fan and film hating hack...you fed us Shit one too many times. Find some other way to take out your anger of Marcia...we're done with you.

Let's get one thing straight, ESB is one of the greatest movies ever made by human hands, regardless of the genre. It eclipses the other five SW episodes because it dares to be something more than what Lucas actually set out to achieve (which was basically the '30s Flash Gordon serials, complete with cheese acting and bullshit 'science' dialogue, with some dogfights thrown in). Yes, Lucas was behind the story, but wasn't the one giving a certain weight to proceedings. I remember reading an interview where he admits he wasn't happy with where Empire was going in terms of its darkness and he was scared that no-one would like it. We are so LUCKY that in those days he wasn't so powerful and buried in his own asshole that he stepped in and changed up the movie. That's what he did with ROTJ and things went fucked up. ROTJ is a movie that believes it's own hype. ROTJ was obviously made with a vision going off how Lucas thought the people thought a Star Wars film should be like - cute muppet aliens and deserts and shit. That's why everything after ESB sucked, Lucas was just trying to live up to something he didn't even understand himself. ESB was a huge fluke made possible by Kershner, Brackett and Kasdan's involvement. I like TPM up to a point, I firmly believe it's the BEST prequel, but only because AOTC and ROTS are so horrible. They should have been written and directed by others. Lucas was so insane to direct AOTC and ROTS.

This guy deserve a big bulk of the credit for Empire. Kershner actually spent real time with the actors, which helped give us some great performances (at least for a Star Wars film). When he told the actors that the take was great, they knew it was great acting, not great simply for how the special effects would go in) Watch the Star Wars documentary that came out a few years back and you can tell that Ford/Hamil/Fisher have a lot of respect for Kershner. In the book Empire Building an anecdote is told about how Lucas freaked when he saw the first cut of Empire (proclaiming to Kershner, editor Paul Hirsch, and Producer Gary Kurtz.."You're runing my movie") and actually tried to cut it himself down to something like 90 minutes. The films was so choppy and incomprehensible that he was talked out of this and something closer to the original cut was eventually what was released.

Let's hope that Lucas has learned his lesson from this Cartoon mess and gets some people with some real talent involved in the writing and directing of the upcoming live action show. He really needs to let a new generation give their spin on the material. If he's not willing to do this, he needs to just stop making Star Wars stuff, and move on. It's obvious from the prequels and now this that he's no longer able to make a good Star Wars film.

Moriarty,
Since the quarrel appears to be personally between you and Lucas, will your 'embargo' also include other Lucasfilm properties like Indiana Jones?
I understand how you feel. I agree with you that Lucas' last attempts at storytelling in a Galaxy Far Far Away have been very mediocre at best... and this coming from a fan who uses 'Anakin Skywalker' as his id.
Best.

It's actually a wake-up call for me--not the crappy cartoon, but McWeeny's pathetic screed. I'm leaving this site, handing in my nerd card, and staying put in reality. I don't want to come to a point where a director of space wizard movies evokes more hatred than the mention of Dick Cheney. Can't let that happen. This is Deathbird, signing off. Goodbye, and good luck. (And God help you.)

He can keep making crap as long as he has money and backing from the studios to do it. The more often we stay home, don't buy the toys and generally ignore bad quality products, either the product will get better or it will stop. At this point I wish it would JUST STOP.

Hey, thanks for the heads up on that stuff. I definitely respect where you're coming from and can understand your trepidation. I personally differ on the SW prequel trilogy. I think you're right that we would probably be begging for it, but of course we would be begging under the assumption that the prequels would be good. I don't demand that Lucas be a great filmmaker (he can be a "techie," that's fine), but he also seems to be a control freak about these prequels, and they've suffered tremendously. I think the article someone linked earlier about "Real Story of Star Wars" is very enlightening in this regard. As for Star Trek prequel, one thing I take comfort in is the fact that a crappy remake or sequel cannot erase the legacy of the original, no matter what other whiners tell you. Psycho is still a legend, even though the sequels and remake are junk. I'm sure that M-O-M will tell you the same thing about the original Halloween (though he's sniffing glue), and I'll say that for the Star Wars originals.

<p> Although Lucas has done many questionable things, he has never had a bomb in his chest. </p>
<p> No one has ever had a cheetos, and then cheated on their wife. It's an urban myth. the people at Cheetos and the FDA have both confirmed there is no substance in Cheetos that would cause one to cheat on his wife. If one is cheating on his wife, Cheetos would have nothing to do with it and to have one before hand would be purly coincidental. </p>
<p> Approximately %93 of the movies that were considered "too soon" were in fact, "too late", and many people you thought of as "fey" were in truth, not fey at all. </p>
<p> No one in talk back has ever gotten off the phone with Spielberg, Lucas. . . Jesus. These things are also not true. </p>
<p> And all your base are not in fact, belong to us. Nor have they ever. And if McCain is elected President, they never will. </p>
<p> But yes, Lucas did rape your child hood. Right in your toot.

The studios pay for NOTHING. Lucas finances EVERYTHING on his own. All the movies of the PT and this film as well as the upcoming series' were all funded by Lucas himself.
The only thing the studios pay for is ditribution, that's it and they make little to no money on that.

I was satisfied by the prequels when they came out, but have no desire to rewatch them, like the OT, which I will be re-watching forever. I think the stories for the prequels were good, but the script and direction was executed poorly. But like with anything a single man creates, it is his to do with as he pleases, and Lucas did just that, and alienated lots of his fans. But I grow tired of all the vulgar bullshit and death wishes upon the man. As Lucas himself said about Indy 4, "It's just a movie."

Let's make something clear...
ONE: If a Batman animated film was released during the same weekend as say a Prequel film had been in theaters for a few weeks... it wouldn't do CRAP. And this is from someone who LOVED TDK and a HUGE Batman fan. The Clone Wars is not considered a chapter in the SW saga and even the diehards weren't expected to come out. The film was geared towards kids and kid films generally do far less then most fare.
TWO: If adjusted for inflation, Star Wars is still #2 behind Gone with the Wind and TDK is #39.
THREE: Star Wars is still a classic, anyone arguing that point is an idiot. The whole trilogy is a classic and the PT has grown on people and 20 years down the line people will be saying a lot of the same things they do now about the OT. TDK is a GREAT film and not to belittle the movie it is, but at least $100 - 125 Million of that film is from the morbid curiosity of people wanting to see Ledger's last film role that was "Rumored to drive him sleepless and drove him to his grave" which couldn't be further from the truth.
I realize everyone has a TDK Boner right now, but let's acknowledge the white elephant in the room.

I'm the one guy on the planet that hasn't seen it yet. I've been waiting to see it in IMAX; the nearest IMAX being like 100 miles away from me.<br>
With all the insane hype this movie has been receiving, I'm probably going to come out disappointed. :(

i agree with everything you said, except the part where the PT have grown on people and that they'll be regarded just as good as the OT in the future.
<p>
i keep hearing this mode of defense over and over. i dont think it's the fans being in denial or apologists, it's just that they have no clue about what constitutes a good film. it's that simple really.
<p>
some PT haters can pick on jar jar or the neutered vader, or whatever as their reason for hating the films, but really... the PT are just terrible on the basic level of writing(plot, structure and dialog wise), directing and acting. and for someone who created the original starwars, the PT show an apparent lack of imagination of luca's part. the PT actually manage to make the galaxy feel so small.
<p>
so let's drop this box office 'my dick is bigger than your dick' mentality bullcrap. money aint never the shit, quality is.

The truth is, no one here will EVER be swayed by any argument. The talkbackers are set in their ways of Online hating Lucas and in reality clammering for all he offers. No one will convince me otherwise. The truth is, there are lots of people who dislike the Prequels, no doubt. But the Millions those movies made and the number of DVDs sold speak for itself. Plenty of people went into those films expecting nothing more then what they were. The people claiming child rape by Lucas are the same people who before TPM came out expected the second coming. For Starters, Lucas said, FROM THE GET GO, do NOT expect the second coming. Secondly, The storyline of the Prequels has been in fron of our faces since 1976. Open the original novelization of Star Wars and the Prologue has the entire storyline in front of you. The rest of it is in bits and pieces throughout the novels of the OT saga and previous drafts. Seriosuly, the story we got was the story we were told we were getting from before Star Wars was released in 1977. Nothing changed. Some characters added, but it's all there. The story is solid, yes the dialogue is weak, but so was the original films. ESB benefited from Kasdan. We all know Lucas can direct and I agree after TPM he should have put Ep2 and 3 in someone elses hands, but he gave us the story we were told we would get for 20 plus years.
I'm not wrong... it's all documented. We begged for the Prequels, we got them and everyone bitched... but everyone went to see them... and a few times at that. I know someone who at the time of release HATED TPM, now likes it a lot. Keep in mind if TPM came out in 77, it would still have the same impact. You can say I'm full of it all you like, but it's true.

...the following two things:<P>
1) People regurgitating Lucas' line of revisionist BS that the Star Wars films were always "kids movies." The assertion is ludicrous on its face. The original film contained swearing, graphic violence (including bloody severed limbs), and nary a child-relatable character (unless you count R2--you know, the supporting player with no dialogue and no character arc). <P>
Moving on to the second film, go ahead and check these items off on any of the other kids flicks from your DVD shelf: graphic violence, sexual tension, long stretches of ponderous philosophy, and a bloody, downbeat ending replete with screaming, tears and no denouement. <P>
ROTJ was, of course, the most kid-friendly installment of the original trilogy, but even that film contained a sex slave dance (with nudity!) and more stretches of ponderous philosophy. The lighter tone and more child-relatable characters were clearly a step in the direction that Lucas would ultimately take for the prequels many years later.<P>
The reality is that these were simply fantasy films that happened to appeal to children as well as their intended audience--adults. Period. No amount of revisionism will make the opposite true. <P>
2) People who can't think for themselves parroting the fiction that ROTJ is a "retread" of the original film. Compare the two films, foiks. Yes, the Death Star attack is similar to the attack in the first film--except that it's only one component of a much larger battle taking place in four locations, oh, and that little fact that it's not the climax of the movie. Remind me again, which sequence in the first movie is analogous to the assault on Endor? Or, wait, maybe I missed the whole Jabba's palace sequence in the first movie. <P>
The basic structure of the two films isn't even the same folks, let alone the execution. Think, people.

1. Where was there swearing in the original film?!? 2. Nudity in ROTJ? WHAT?!?!? What movies were you watching???? I think even the people who HATE Lucas the last 10 years are going to have to back me on this one.

Aug. 18, 2008, 12:34 a.m. CST

by Balcony Fool

Swearing:<P>
"...might follow Obi-Wan off on some damn fool idealistic crusade..."<P>
"Damned fool, I knew you were going to say that."<P>
Nudity: <P>
http://tinyurl.com/5wt4rl<P>
Back to geek school, Drafthouse_Slave. ;^)

And this is exactly why is sucked...it was a toss off with no soul, no thought, no heart. It was simply another mass marketed product from Lucas Inc. Lucas Films reminds me of Disney Studios after Walt died, during the 70s and 80s. Lucas may not be dead...but his heart and soul sure are.

sure, you should adjust for inflation, no doubt - but there is waaaaay more competition for movies now than in 1977 - not only at the box office, but with things like video games...that's why Gone With the Wind is still the champion in adjusted dollars; it had maybe 30 films come out that year...Don't get me started on the amount of money the studios lose to pirated copies of TDK...

"I'll see you in Hell" Han in ESB.
You hit the nail on the head..fantasy films..not kiddy flicks. I saw the original over 15 times in 1977...I was 9-10...My parents originally though it was too grown up after taking me to see it the first time, what with the bloody severed arm, and Darth crushing the guys throat...not to mention the smoldering bodies of Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru mercilessly blasted and burned by Stormtroopers....but they relented..and we were all hooked.
Kiddy movies my ass...Today..probably...in 1977..no fuckin way.

Freaky Friday, Escape to Witch Mountain, Herbie goes to Monte Carlo.....If Lucas wanted a "Kids" movie it would have been rated "G" in 1977, not PG, remember there was no PG-13 in 1977...PG was a teen/young adult movie in 1977...Family was "G".

anyone who gets this worked up over star wars is a fucking douchebag tool. star wars sucks! not just the prequels. all of them. same with indiana jones. same with james bond before casino royale. it's all fuckin hokey cartoon garbage and you guys fuckin eat it up. it's hilarious. what a fucking lame universe. that's right, suck it you fuckin' whiny star wars bitches!

I don't anyone who thinks the PT has gotten better over the years, and if it wasn't for the internet, I would have never thought that anyone liked the PT at all. Now my friends don't hate the PT movies, it is SW, and a SW fan can always find some affection for a SW movie, but I can tell you that the movies do not have the replay value of the OT movies for one reason: Quality! As for the PT story always being there from the original SW, that is false, Lucas has made this stuff up from day one, as in 1977 Darth Vader and Lukes dad were two different people so that totally goes against the whole PT story! Even in the OT Lucas was making these things, up and he had a small notebook of notes about little plot points like Darth Vader/ObiWan dueling, and the Empire taking over, but he wasn't even finishing the damn scripts to the PT movies til the day they started shooting! As for TPM coming out in 1977 and having the same impact, what are you smoking, cause I want some of that! People like myself fell in love with the characters and the story, and the special effects were gravy. I wanted to be Luke, my friends wanted to be Han, girls wanted to be Leia, that is why SW resonated, THE CHARACTERS!!!!!!!!! That is why people like you and Lucas miss the whole point of why the PT isn't as good as the OT, THE CHARACTERS!!!! No one gives a shit about Anakin, he is jerk, and an unlikeable one at that, even fucking Tony Soprano is a likeable character, even though he murders people in every show of The Sopranos. Special Effects are great to see, but that doesn't make a movie a classic, and the themes, the story, the mythology, the characters, the humor, the music, all of that is what made Star Wars great in 1977, and TPM was devoid of most of that as it tried to sell itself on Special Effects, and movies like that don't age well, cause people move on. Listen, if you like the PT, that is your right, but please don't compare TPM to Star Wars, that is where you PT fanboys are a bit extreme.

I'm right with you Mori - only I had the kind of epiphany you're describing a few years back when Ep 3 came out. It didn't exactly suck, but it made the disappointment of what the IDEA of the prequels promised and what actually happened... complete. <p>
Let someone else put it another way: <p>
http://tinyurl.com/5qpfvg

or maybe I'm just being a smart ass. But doesn't responding in Talkbacks about not writing about StarWars constitute writing about StarWars. You already broke your word dude, but that's o.k. we still love you anyways.

This weekend after I went to see Tropic Thunder. Kind of funny they had their Star Wars (Force Tees) and talked flat our shit of the movie walking by. Too funny. Lucas is going down faster then a Asian dime hooker with no teeth.

I'm going to backpedal a bit here, and clarify what I'm saying. Star Wars may have been created to appeal a juvenile audience. No argument. In that sense, yes, it was "for kids."<P>
What the original trilogy didn't do, however, was *pander* to kids, and condescend to them the way the prequel trilogy did. There are also those pesky adult elements I mentioned before, and if TESB was intended as a movie for kids, it's not hard to see why Lucas sees it as the worst film in the series. That is *not* a children's movie. <P>
So perhaps it's less useful to talk about intentions and more useful to talk about results. Lucas intended to make a movie for kids, and accidentally made one that appealed to people of all ages. In later years, it seems, he has worked *very* hard to correct that mistake.

and the fan base will continue to grow....despite some less than stellar movies, Star Wars is in good shape and 1 GOOD film will bring all the complainers back, hell 1 or 2 good episodes of the new cartoon could do it....

A large swath of fandom is as much to blame for whatever is perceived to be wrong with Star Wars as anything in the Post-Jedi product cycle. It's no coincidence that Lucas-hate shares its genesis with the true advent of the internet. Most of the people having full on fits of apolexy eagerly tuned in to Ewoks cartoons and their TV adaptations in their day but now feign some sort of misplaced rage about any diversion from hardcore Jedi pathos. Everyone else is too young to understand that there wouldn't BE genre product at all on the scale we now get see without Lucas and Spielberg. They invented out of whole cloth the notion of successfully marrying big budget filmmaking to pulp material. No one has to like any movie and if you don't care for Star Wars anymore good on you - the originals NEVER enjoyed any kind of true critical support and the context of entertainment coverage has changed considerably - every asshole with a keyboard is utterly convinced he is Pauline Kael or her better when back in the day most people would walk out of a theatre fairly astonished at the shit they saw. Just because the sensibilities of a now 30+ year old franchise don't wash down the same as they used to for you doesn't make it irrelevant for everyone. Some parts of Star Wars are ok to let kids have but you assholes think everything with the words printed on it must immediately satisfy your cravings for pre-conceived canon - something that is full to bursting already by any reasonable standard. For Christ's sake they are using a theatrical release to promote a Cartoon Network show for kids - nothing more but you all use it as excuse to get up on your soapboxes again. Mori I enjoy your writing a lot and I can imagine the hurt you have over someone you admire(d) taking proxy steps to stifle you (I still think this overblown however - you guys act like this "movie" was like the Manhattan Project of movie scoops or something) but frankly I think you guys have asked for it and have profited and trafficked heavily in bashing (or facilitating it to a preposterous degree) the guy for far too long. If some site (by extension it's users) was essentially devoted to derailing your own career why would you go out of your way to facilitate more of it? And as for "embargoes" please educate the kids here that most every studio with every release asks that reviews are held until opening day.

I agree that the internet breeds negativity, but it aint just SW who gets smashed everday on the net. Do you remember those Matrix Sequels? Or Spiderman 3? Or Xmen 3? This happens with every movie these days, so yes you are correct in what you are saying, but SW isn't the only one who gets bashed on the net each day. As for the Originals never enjoying true critical support, I disagree with that. Star Wars from 1977 did, as that was loved by EVERYONE, and also nominated for 10 Academy Awards, and not just for Special Effects, Best Movie, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor: Alec Guiness. The sequels are just like every movie series, they are made for fanboys. Most people don't like sequels, as most older people I know just love the Original Star Wars, and nothing else. Now I grew up when the OT was in its heyday, so every guy I know who is in their 30's loves those movies. Now I totally agree with you that The Clone Wars was a cartoon targeted at kids, but I am still happy the movie didn't make dick this weekend, and I am so glad the OT fanboys didn't show, as a movie site estimated that 2/3 of the audience was parents taking their kids, and 1/3 of PT fanboys who still think Jar Jar is entertaining. Most fans like myself are pissed at Lucas cause he wont release Original Versions of the Classic Trilogy in a respectable format so we could all move on in life. But he continues to say stupid shit like, "The originals were just rough drafts." or "Sorry you fell in half-completed movie." or "The originals don't exist anymore." Fuck You George, if they don't exist, why did you take our money to build Skywalker Ranch! Lucas could easily let the OT fanbase go by remastering the OOT in BluRay, meaning no Hayden in ROTJ, putting it out in a great boxset with deleted scenes from Star Wars, Empire, and Jedi, and then we can have our beloved movies to enjoy, and he move on to the kiddies and start fresh with them.

Clone Wars is THE TRUE movie of 2008. Ignore the baseless (and bias) hatred. I saw this on Saturday and it was one of the greatest films ever to grace the silver screen. Excellent script, animation and voice talent. George Lucas has hit another home run!

Seriously, as far as Lucas was ever concerned we're all just mini bank accounts. Millions and millions of little ATMs he just takes money out of a couple times a year. I'm glad you've become enlightened Mori. I was never going to see this, just because it's the prequel he should have given us. He also insisted there would be no more Star Wars movies. So to make an animated Clone Wars movie where the characters look like they're carved out of wood, instead of full on live action Clone Wars battles in a feature film, is a slap in the face to us, imo. The arrogance in taking all the goodwill he had and throwing it away time and again is just so foolish. I'm just glad we won't be following that fool anymore.

If you can prove, with period evidence, that Star Wars was made "for 8-year olds", I would be utterly stunned.<br>
I never heard George Lucas say anything of the sort until 1999, when defending TPM.<br>
From all the biographies I've read, George was actually terrified of the studios turning Star Wars into a "kiddie film"

I recall reading that Luca wrote and re-wrote the first film for over a year before he went to camera. I am convinced the prequels never made it past the a first draft and a spell check. Same for The Clone Wars.

Saw it yesterday fully expecting to hate it, and I actually enjoyed it. There was nothing in it that was as horrible as Jar Jar or as excrutiating as the romance in Episode II. The animation was fairly solid, especially if this is what the TV show is going to look like.You Have to put this in perspective... it's the first three episodes of a saturday morning cartoon. While I don't buy the "It's just for kids" argument in regards to the prequels, this is not a real movie. It's a TV pilot and it IS for kids. Given that, it worked. As a movie, it doesn't work, and I think that's the problem. Maybe Lucas should have released this on DVD instead, or simply put it on TV a few months early. If people were sitting at home watching this from their couches for free, they'd probably be singing its praises.

I enjoy changing the words to songs for my young son, to get one of the most enjoyable sounds before he falls asleep. And no, I'm not talking about my singing voice. (HA!) I'm referring to the sound of a child's laughter (specifically, from your own son). But for this talkback, I made some changes. And it's only a taste. I'll spare myself of any more humiliation. Here goes. - "HUSH LITTLE BABY, DON'T SAY A WORD, JUST BECAUSE MOMMA CALLED DADDY A NERD." - "DADDY'S NOT A NERD SO MUCH AS A GOOF. I THINK THAT'S A SQUIRREL I HEAR ON THE ROOF." - "SQUIRREL'S LIKE DADDY 'CAUSE DADDY'S A NUT. I LIKE STAR WARS BUT NOT JABBA THE HUT." - I REALLY LOVE THE O.T. AND THE ORIGINAL CUT. AS FOR PREQUELS, GEORGE CAN KISS MY BUTT." - "I'M NOT FULL OF HATE AND I'M NOT BITTER. THOUGH, SOMETIMES, I MIGHT NEED A BABYSITTER." - "IF WE OWNED A FAT DOG, WE'D NAME HIM JABBA THE MUTT. BUT TO NAME HIM GEORGE, I MIGHT GIVE MY RIGHT NUT."

Say what you will about the Ewoks, but the amazing thing is they actually seemed like real creatures that could exist, whereas Jar Jar is a completely ridiculous and obnoxious Roger Rabbit character. Given the increased budget and advances in technology, that is a tremendously sad comment on Lucas's judgment.

I think the biggest complaint about the prequels is that they are VERY sanitary...none of it seemed real...this goes for the screenplay, the effects, sets, all the way up to the perfomances and direction. What saved them for me was John Williams' great score, and three lightsaber battles to conclude each movie that made me feel like a I was 8 years old again.

Like some, I had no problem with Ewoks, and I just shake my head and sigh everytime I hear someone claim that Ewoks raped their childhood and singlehandedly soiled their opinion of Jedi. The dance number in the special edition- yeah, that was horrible. But Ewoks, as intentionally "cute" as they were, didn't seem very far fetched and out of place to me.<p><p>
I will not see this movie because it looks face-hidingly terrible. But nothing prevents Lucas from branching out and making a "kid's movie". Because that's what this movie is, it's a branching-out. It's not a hardcore chapter of the epic saga, it never claimed to be (unless by the marketing department, which is just trying to sell it). So people who are disappointed that it's not epic, it's not serious, it's not the "untold chapter of the Star Wars saga"- they really need to just get over their own expectations. The classic "If Lucas was going to make a kid's movie, he at least had an opportunity to make one that was better quality and a better homage to the SW story" line just doesn't cut it, sorry. Nothing can excuse the fact that the movie probably sucks beyond belief and is an embarrassment to the live-action story. But if you're enough of an idiot to put them in the same category together, you deserve to be tortured by your own childhood-raping delusions.

put on the film by the people at the theater, sure the Studios will send the prints out with a trailer but they don't often stay on the print....When i was running the booth, i slapped a Batman or Naked Gun preview on EVERYTHING along with anything else that tickled my fancy, the only rule we had was no more than 3 trailers to a film and no red bands except on R rated films....

An inescapable reality: George Lucas is not a poor man. He is not an old man. He is not a creatively unable man. If he wished to be making films like 'Empire' or 'Raiders' today, he would be. Argue with it.
The simple fact is, The last time Lucas made a film for any reason other than for his own personal amusement was a quarter of a century ago. You cannot force inspiration upon yourself. It doesn't work that way.
For this reason, I announce, with peril but with confidence, that there will never again be new 'Star Wars' work on screen that is any good, ever. Lucas lost the hunger for it when I was still playing with his toys on the rug, and he is too territorial and stubborn with his own work to allow anyone else to do it WELL. If 'Clone Wars' is not proof of this, then his other recent film, 'Indiana Jones And The Most Expensive Group Campout In The History Of Man', leaves it beyond dispute.
He can be excused for the territoriality, I suppose...it is his work...but we are also free of guilt for shredding his work when he won't do it well.

I have to admit he shares a lot of my sentiments about Star Wars. It was also fundamental to my childhood imagination and I am slightly less than sycophantic about the product.
I think he's wrong to react this way, though. I rely on people who share my love of Star Wars to provide a means of interpreting and relaying information about it in a way that I can understand and appreciate.
He works for a movie information site. He has a responsibility to inform me and people like me. I think the true Star Wars fan is a dying breed. Not because there aren't any, but because we have to hide away.
Now, one more goes down. Bitter, angry, pushed aside by young assholes in some marketing department who probably haven't even seen any of the OT in the theater.
Don't do it, man.

Mori, I wouldn't let anyone force me to give up like you have. But it's your choice man. Personally, I'd keep on fighting the good fight and to hell with what Lucas thinks. He's great at creating concepts and ideas, but not too good when it comes to writing and directing. His head's just too far up his own arse for him to realize this. The original trilogy made a big impression on my childhood too, but it wasn't the only thing. It's a shame to see that between Star Wars and Indy, Lucas has managed to ruin the only two good ideas he's ever had in his entire career. The new Clone Wars movie is pretty bad. The Music, story, direction etc. Even the animation is pretty poor when you consider the money and resources that LucasFilm has. I didn't go into it expecting not to enjoy it cos the trailers had got me kinda excited. But the film ended up lacking on pretty much every level. Personally, I'd like to see them adapt some of the Dark Horse comics, stuff like Tales of The Jedi, in which we get to see the first Jedi Knights and Sith Lords etc.

I guess the fat hack cannot be fairly called an evil rapist but he certainly fooled us all with quite simply the best fantasy world ever created, filled with cool science and magical places that swept us into his make believe fantasy world.<P> A magical world we all happily lived in until he forcibly evicted us all to make way for younger, dumber, less demanding and more gullible fans.<P> So in a way he did fiddle with us, it was just not flat out rape, more he pawed at us with his fat fingers then when we finally accepted his mastery over us he fucked us off quicker than Gary Glitter spotting a crashed school bus.<P> I wont see this film in the cinema, but I will borrow a friends copy when it is on DVD, he ain't getting any more of my cash as he (Lucas) has now made it quite clear that that is all he is interested in.<P>The grossly unsubtle user.

You make good points here Moriarty, and I can completely understand how personal it must feel to be shut out like that. Because as much as Lucasfilm will say, "It was a business decision. Nothing personal." the fact that the rules are enforced inconsistently shows SOMEONE has a personal stake in it, and has a bone to grind with AICN. Regardless of what people say.
However, and I realize this will be lost in the flood of comments since this post made FARK, but if Hutts reproduce asexually, and only once... how is there ever more than one Hutt? They are all exact clones of their parent? I suppose if the hutts live for thousands of years, there will be enough alive simultaneously that it would seem like there are hundreds of them... but even so that may be good for dramatic effect, but the situation is completely ridiculous... so if you kill a single young Hutt before he's reproduced the entire race dies???? Sorry, that's insanity.

Weak. You're weak. My point is that Ewoks seem like something that is biologically plausible, and you actually believe that Mark Hamill is interacting with tangible creatures, whereas Jar Jar and Liam Neeson look like Roger Rabbit and Bob Hoskins. Plus Roger Rabbit was about 10x more likable.

All Lucas did was take the b-movie aesthetic, and upgrade it. The dialogue is cheesy in ALL SIX FILMS. But that's why I love them. Star Wars became so big and so legendary that it comes as no surprise that it is starting to turn on itself. I will never accuse Lucas of being a great film-maker, (even at 6 years old I could tell Spielberg was much more talented behind the camera), but he did have 2 great ideas for movies, (Star Wars and Indiana Jones) which were hugely successful and made him very rich. I am a happy Star Wars fan. The prequels weren't as great as I had hoped, but I still enjoyed them. I was deeply disappointed in the new Indiana Jones film, but I moved on. Life is fine folks.

Please - don't be foolish. The IMDB has 2267 titles listed for that year - certainly not all Hollywood films but I'd be bet a great many are. The differences were there were far fewer screens and far fewer choices for the entertainment dollar - most importantly no television.

Though I suppose I'm harsher towards the Marin County Maestros creation than most are. The nostalgia that seems to cloy some peoples brains when it comes to Lucas' Buck Rogers knockoff has always been mystifying to me. Yup - saw the first one in theaters at 6 - loved it - but I also loved Hong Kong Phooey and the Godzilla Power Hour. Now I watch each of them on Youtube and i cringe - the same for Star Wars - clearly made for children.

Star Wars remains an incredible film experience and ESB is even better. Return on the Jedi is a not very good at all film punctuated with some seriously awesome bits with Luke, Vader and the Emperor.
The prequels are stilted, badly acted, awfully directed and terribly written. Sad truth is, whatever talent Lucas has seems t have gone the way of the dodo.
However, whatever integrity Harry and Moriarty have gets shot to hell every time they revise their prequel reviews. Going back in time, they claimed before every film that this was the Star Wars we remembered and we would love it. Years further on they said the films were crap just because it was what everyone else was saying.
Slaughtering this new cash-in doesn't make anyone forget the Lucas-apologist reviews of the past.